Katerina isn’t ready to try for a child just yet: she feels too fragile.
She also has no hopes the war will end soon, which would allow her to give birth in a country at peace.
“If we compromise now, then what did so many people die for?” is her reaction to the idea Ukraine might give up land Vitaly was killed defending, for Russia to stop its invasion.
But Katerina does want the option of having her husband’s baby when she’s ready for that.
“I think the children of our soldiers who’ve been killed should have a chance to live: they have the right to live in the country their parents died for.”
Out on the frontline, in constant danger, Maxim agrees.
“That’s why I did it, and it’s great!” the soldier tells me over the phone. “Because maybe tomorrow, I’m suddenly gone. But my wife will have my sperm and can use it. It’s one less thing for me to worry about.”
The biggest problem Maxim sees is persuading men to sign up for the programme.
The Kyiv clinic director, Oksana Horlikova, recalls talking to one war veteran who told her soldiers were coming to him in tears because they were struggling to have sex with their partners or conceive.
“Men are secretive, but there are lots of psychological problems,” Maxim admits.
So he suggests soldiers could be told to freeze their sperm when they’re drafted, like they leave DNA samples to identify them if they’re killed.
“All that’s holding people back is that we need to talk about this more and explain why it’s important,” the soldier concludes.
“Because we men won’t do anything, unless you shove it in our face – and make us.”
Additional reporting by Tetiana Dankevych