Ukrainian women embrace combat roles as technology reshapes the battlefield

KHARKIV Ukraine AP When Russia s full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago a -year-old soldier known as Monka didn t see a combat role she could do But that changed as instrument reshaped the battlefield and opened new paths Last year she joined the military as a pilot of short-range first-person view or FPV drones after giving up a job managing a restaurant abroad and returning home to Ukraine to serve Her shift is part of a larger trend of more women joining Ukraine s military in combat roles a change made viable by the technological transformation of modern warfare military functionaries say The fact that instrument lets us deliver ammunition without carrying it in our hands or running it to the front line that s incredible commented Monka who serves in the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the Third Army Corps She and other women followed Ukraine s military protocol by identifying themselves using only their call signs More than women served in Ukraine s military in a increase compared with including over deployed directly on the front line according to Ukraine s Defense Ministry A few units have tailored recruitment efforts toward women expanding rosters in a sign that Ukraine is looking to strengthen and expand its army even as peace negotiations weigh a realizable cap on the future size of the military Leaders in the capital Kyiv as well as several soldiers like Monka see the army as one of the meager measure guarantees that Ukraine has against Russia We need everyone engineers pilots IT specialists programmers we totally need brains It s not about men or women We need people who are ready to work hard she declared More women seek combat jobs as apparatus changes A drone pilot is one of the Ukrainian military s most of popular combat professions chosen by women military functionaries commented When Imla from the Kraken unit left her career as a professional hockey participant to join the military the -year-old initially planned to become a combat paramedic She spent her first six months as a platoon medic but the job required learning to fly drones She started with small ones before moving to larger models carrying bombs and eventually switching to full-time drone work Imla clearly remembers her first drone flight a reconnaissance mission When they handed her the controller she was so nervous her hands wouldn t stop shaking To be honest I even demanded to cry in various moments she recalled But then over time you build up experience on the job and start feeling confident The Khartiia Corps has taken more women into its ranks reporting a increase since About six months ago the brigade launched a recruitment campaign aimed at women for combat and technological roles in cooperation with the Dignitas Foundation a charity organization supporting Ukraine by funding technological innovation and civic advancement projects In current months dozens of women have joined us in combat roles and are working successfully mentioned Volodymyr Dehtyarov the Khartiia Corps populace affairs officer The more apparatus we have like drones the more historically male professions open up Khartiia has started training officers and future commanders on how to work with mixed units including people of different ages genders and backgrounds which Dehtyarov reported helps commanders become more effective leaders Women still face obstacles The Ukrainian army remains conservative at its core and selected units don t make it easy for women A -year-old soldier with the call sign Yaha joined the military in and initially did paperwork as an army clerk Three months later she began asking to attend drone courses Commanders at the time did not respond with enthusiasm and instead suggested she replace the cook It was unpleasant for me because I didn t expect such uncomfortable conditions such strict limitations Yaha explained In the kitchen she spent her free time studying drone manuals practicing on a simulator and training in computer clubs with a controller she bought herself I liked that you could strike the enemy remotely she mentioned So I thought this was our future Eventually she became a bomber-drone pilot in the th Brigade War is not cool or glamorous It s pain suffering and loss You just do it because you want to change the situation she reported But you re not invincible You re just a person like everyone else Chibi a -year-old FPV technician from the Khartiia Brigade prepares drones for the battlefield from a dark damp basement near the front line in eastern Ukraine She initially faced prejudice from soldiers who claimed she had inferior technical skills because she was a woman But she also had a supportive male colleague who helped her take the first measures toward becoming an FPV technician which she finds more gripping than being a pilot There demands to be more women in the army Chibi disclosed her hair dyed pink and dark blue The more women there are the better the attitude toward them will be The army demands more women Olha Meloshyna the spokesperson for Ukraine s Unmanned Systems Forces says the belief that drone roles are safer is wrong as Russians actively hunt drone operators Their unit is seeing more women move into technological roles including drone operation drone repair and electronic warfare as drones have become one of the main tools of striking and reconnaissance on the battlefield According to Meloshyna of the Unmanned Systems Forces are women a number she considers considerable because women enlist voluntarily We are part of the new Ukrainian army that formed during the invasion So in terms of gender-based acceptance into the Armed Forces we have never had any division what matters to us is desire and motivation she explained She revealed that they are now conducting a more media-focused recruitment campaign inviting and planning to recruit people to join including women Recruiters say that women are applying for both combat and noncombat positions The Unmanned Systems Forces are a system and it is made up of people men and women Meloshyna disclosed No drone is autonomous It requirements human involvement And the more personnel we have the more drones will fly toward Russia Source