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 26-year-old soldier known as Monka didn’t see a combat role she could do. But that changed as technology 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 possible by the technological transformation of modern warfare, military officials say.

“The fact that technology lets us deliver ammunition without carrying it in our hands or running it to the front line – that’s incredible,” said 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 70,000 women served in Ukraine’s military in 2025, a 20% increase compared with 2022, including over 5,500 deployed directly on the front line, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

Some 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 possible cap on the future size of the military.

Leaders in the capital Kyiv, as well as many soldiers like Monka, see the army as one of the few security guarantees that Ukraine has against Russia.

“We need everyone – engineers, pilots, IT specialists, programmers, we simply need brains. It’s not about men or women. We need people who are ready to work hard,” she said.

A drone pilot is one of the Ukrainian military’s most popular combat professions chosen by women, military officials said.

When Imla from the Kraken 1654 unit left her career as a professional hockey player to join the military, the 27-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 wanted to cry in some 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 20% increase since 2024. 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 development projects.

“In recent months, dozens of women have joined us in combat roles and are working successfully,” said Volodymyr Dehtyarov, the Khartiia Corps public affairs officer. “The more technology 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 said helps commanders become more effective leaders.

The Ukrainian army remains conservative at its core and some units don’t make it easy for women.

A 25-year-old soldier with the call sign Yaha joined the military in 2023 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 said.

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 said. “So I thought this was our future.”

Eventually, she became a bomber-drone pilot in the 9th 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 said. “But you’re not invincible. You’re just a person like everyone else.”

Chibi, a 20-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 steps toward becoming an FPV technician, which she finds more interesting than being a pilot.

“There needs to be more women in the army,” Chibi said, her hair dyed pink and dark blue. “The more women there are, the better the attitude toward them will be.”

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, 4.2% of the Unmanned Systems Forces are women, a number she considers significant 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 said.

She said that they are now conducting a more media-focused recruitment campaign, inviting and planning to recruit 15,000 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 said. “No drone is autonomous. It needs human involvement. And the more personnel we have, the more drones will fly toward Russia.”