Women calling the shots in revenge bid

WOMEN in Ukraine are training to shoot to help the battle to save their country from Russia’s onslaught.

- By Zak Garner-Purkis

Ukraine’s military desperately needs more troops as it tries to repel Russian invaders in the east and north of the country.

In Bucha, the Express spoke to mothers who had put their children in the care of grandparents while they sought to avenge their husbands’ deaths - and set up their own unit called the Bucha Witches.

They are learning how to load bullets into Kalashnikovs, aim and seek cover behind trees as they go through an intense training regime.

Prior to the 2022 invasion, Ludmyla Tyshenko, 36, was a housewife who believed women belonged in the home. But when her husband was killed defending the country, she felt a calling to join the army.

“My children cried for several months when I told them I was going to fight,” she said. “They wanted me to reconsider, but I decided I would be here until the end.

“They do not agree, but they have accepted they won’t be able to change my mind.”