Yuliia Didenko did not grow up planning a military career. But after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she says, the choice eventually became unavoidable.
“I had no fear,” she said. “What could be more frightening than realizing that, while Russians are killing and torturing Ukrainians, I am resting at home?”
Didenko, 21, who goes by the call sign “Tysha,” is a reconnaissance drone operator in the 413th Regiment of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.
According to Ukraine’s military, more than 70,000 women were serving at the start of 2025, including roughly 5,500 in combat roles. In November, one Ukrainian servicewomen said that around 20,000 women were serving in combat roles. Until recent reforms, Ukrainian women were formally barred from most combat roles, restrictions that were only fully lifted after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
While women still make up only a small share of the force, their numbers have risen sharply since before the invasion, and they now serve across nearly every specialty. Some joined after their husbands were killed in the war; some enlisted to avenge other loved ones lost to the invading army.
That shift has begun to take institutional form on the battlefield. Ukraine’s National Guard recently deployed its first all-female FPV drone strike crew, a unit operating entirely without men. The team drives its own vehicles, assembles its own munitions and conducts live attack missions along the front. Commanders said the unit emerged after it emerged that some female operators performed better when freed from constant scrutiny in mixed-gender teams.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces have also fielded all-female strike units, including the “Harpies,” which recently received a customized Vampire bomber drone developed specifically for women operators.
Didenko is part of that shift, one that is increasingly visible at the front. She joined the army in 2024 after two years of volunteering and self-reproach. “For two years I blamed myself for doing too little,” she said. “I knew I could do more. Becoming part of the armed forces felt like a second wind.”
Her path to the front began well before she put on a uniform. As a teenager, she was drawn to military history, tactics, and training. While still in school, she helped found a civic organization in her hometown of Bila Tserkva that focused on patriotic education for young people.
Everything changed on February 24, 2022. That morning, the organization’s leaders were mobilized almost immediately. They asked Didenko, then 17, to take over. “So. at 17, I became the head of a civic organization,” she said.
Under her leadership, the group raised money for the military, organized training sessions, ran first-aid courses and supported units at the front. Today, nearly all of its members are serving in the armed forces. Some were wounded and discharged and now train younger recruits.
“My convictions, my principles, and my love for Ukraine left me no other choice,” she said. “I should have mobilized earlier than 2024.” Didenko now serves as a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operator. Her job is to prepare the drone and equipment, study routes, plan missions, guide the aircraft into reconnaissance zones, complete the task,and bring the drone back safely.
It is technical work, but also risky. And for women, she said, it comes with additional challenges. “Armor and clothing don’t take female anatomy into account,” she said. “Honestly, they don’t really take male anatomy into account, either.”
She bought most of her gear herself or relied on female volunteers who specialize in equipping women soldiers. “I am incredibly grateful to them,” she said. “It’s important that women support one another.”
Ukrainian servicewomen were previously issued uniforms and body armor designed for men, a mismatch that many said affected mobility and safety. Ukraine’s military plans to begin issuing female-specific body armor this year, following the approval of interim anatomical padding and women’s underwear, as part of efforts to adapt standard equipment to female soldiers while maintaining protection standards.
Until recently, Didenko was the youngest in her unit. Her fellow soldiers adapted quickly, she said, becoming “like older brothers.” Younger servicemen tended to accept her more easily. Older ones sometimes saw her as a daughter.
“In those cases, you have to prove that you’re the same combat unit as they are,” she said. She said sexism exists, but it is not the norm. “It depends on individual people,” she said. “The most important thing is not to be afraid to stand up for yourself.”
Didenko does not talk about promotions or military careers. She says she has no interest in climbing the ranks. “I just want to do my job well and be useful,” she said. Her motivation, she added, is deeply personal. “It’s revenge for friends and loved ones taken by the Russians,” she said. “Revenge for stolen time, opportunities and dreams.”
She is far from alone. Many women have recently joined her regiment, she said, and nearly all of her friends are now either on combat missions or undergoing training. “I am incredibly proud of women in the military,” she said. “They are my inspiration and my support.”
For her, the reason women volunteer is simple: “To protect loved ones, to be involved. To fight for the chance to live in a free country and to build our future.” She rejects the idea that women are unsuited for combat or technical roles. “Women are the same combat units as men,” she said. “Yes, physical work is harder for us. But we train, we learn and we work.”
Every day, she said, women prove they belong. “And every day,” she added, “there are more of us.”