Ukrainian women embrace combat roles as technology reshapes battlefield

When Russia's full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago, a 26-year-old soldier known as Monka didn't see a combat role she could do.

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But that changed as technology reshaped the battlefield and opened new paths.Last year, she joined the military as a pilot of short-range, first-person view, or FPV, drones after giving up a job managing a restaurant abroad and returning home to Ukraine to serve.

Her shift is part of a larger trend of more women joining Ukraine's military in combat roles, a change made possible by the technological transformation of modern warfare, military officials say.

"The fact that technology lets us deliver ammunition without carrying it in our hands or running it to the front line that's incredible," said Monka, who serves in the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the Third Army Corps. She and other women followed Ukraine's military protocol by identifying themselves using only their call signs.