The “Witches of Bucha”, a unique Ukrainian women’s military unit

Published on November 1, 2024 at 09:31. / Modified on November 1, 2024 at 09:40.

In the middle of a freshly harvested field, two cannons look up at the surprisingly blue sky at the end of October. Mounted on the back of a pick-up, these ancient Maxim machine guns hunt Russian drones which are said to be lurking in this sector west of kyiv. At the helm of this homemade anti-aircraft defense system, combining weapons from 1940 and a night vision scope connected to a digital tablet, Taïana despairs: “I know how to aim and shoot very well, but I have never shot one down yet. Every time a Shahed heads towards my sector, he turns just before!” The curly-haired brunette bursts out laughing.

Five months ago, Taïana, 41, became a “witch of Boutcha”. She joined a volunteer unit that appeared in the martyred suburbs of kyiv. Attached to the 133rd battalion of the 114th territorial defense brigade, this unit has the specificity of having an overwhelming majority of female fighters: 93 against around fifteen men, according to the commander, retired colonel Andriy Verlaty.