While Ukraine has suffered unprecedented drone attacks from Russia since the beginning of November, a unit of nearly 90 women is trying to shoot down Shahed drones heading towards the capital, kyiv. They call themselves “The Witches of Boutcha”.
The camp is located a few kilometers from Boutcha, in a pine forest. Tetiana is in full training. Khaki fatigues, ponytail, this mother of two teenagers still can't believe it: “Me, I kill Shahed”. “On March 5, 2022, my brother-in-law was killed. On the 8th, my building was destroyed. On the 13th, my husband died. On the 15th, my other brother-in-law was seriously injured. My mother Didn't make it, she died too.she says to explain her presence here.
Ioulia is 37 years old, with long blond hair and blue eyes. She has four women under her command, one day out of three. The rest of the time, she takes care of her daughter and works in her nail salon. “They are two completely different worlds, she admits. It's colossal. But here, I feel in my place because in civilian life, you can't act, it's not in your hands. Here, it's the opposite. It's easier morally”.
The commander of these women, Andriy Verlaty, a colossus in khaki uniform, is proud of his recruits and he says it in his own way: “Involving women in anti-aircraft defense is very important for them. They become warriors. And afterward, they continue their commitment. 12 women from our unit have joined over the last three months in intelligence, as border guards, as missile launcher operators or in assault brigades.”
“Women are replacing men, and believe me, they have stronger 'balls' than some of them.”
Andriy Verlaty, commandantat franceinfo
“The Russians have awakened in us an energy that should not be brought out. We have all become a little witches, but witches only for our enemies. For our men, we are magnificent fairies”believes Yulia. While volunteers for war are becoming rare in Ukraine, these “fairies” allowed the authorities to concentrate men on the front.
