The war between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for more than two years. Continuous attacks are being carried out from both sides. Russia is adamant that it will accept Ukraine only after teaching it a lesson, whereas Ukraine is not ready to kneel before Russia. In the ongoing war between the two countries, a special army of Ukraine is now in the news. When Russian drones come in groups and attack Ukraine's Bucha city at night, a special force becomes active and gets busy in thwarting Putin's drones. People call this army 'witches of Bucha'. This is an army of women who are taking up the responsibility of protecting the skies of their country in the darkness of the night.
These women have a different identity during the day. Some of them are teachers, some doctors, and some work in beauty parlors. But as soon as night falls, these women set out to fight the enemies. At the beginning of the war in 2022, these women considered themselves weak, but now they have gained confidence by being active in the fight.
equipped with old but deadly weapons
According to the BBC report, the 'witches of Bucha' are not fighting with modern weapons, but with old-fashioned weapons. They have 'Maxim' model machine guns manufactured in 1939, which have the Soviet era red star marking on them. However, they are using these old weapons very efficiently and have claimed to have shot down three Russian drones this summer.
A 51-year-old woman named Valkyrie recently joined the group. She says, “I weigh 100 kg and can't run, but still I am a part of this fight.” Her other partner Ina laughs and says, “This work is scary, but giving birth to children thrice was also not easy. Ukrainian women can do anything.”
The spirit of revenge against Russia
Many women of this group have joined this fight for emotional reasons. Valkyrie explains that when her family was fleeing Bucha at the beginning of the war, a Russian soldier pointed a gun at her child's head. That scary moment shook her internally and today she is inspired by the same pain and anger to join the fight. Anya, 52, said, “When I heard that the Russian army was coming to kill children, I decided that I would never forgive them.”
It is noteworthy that it has been almost 1000 days since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Ukrainian army has not achieved any major success till now. Despite this, the army of women is not ready to accept defeat. For them, this war is not only for the defense of the country, but also for their own survival and self-respect. Valkyrie says, “We have come here to end this war as quickly as possible.”
