Gen Z women v Putin: The young women fighting Russia on Ukraine's frontline

In a concealed shed not far from the frontline in Ukraine, a 23-year-old woman with fiery red hair, neatly plaited beneath a baseball cap, sits clutching what looks like a computer games console.

On the screen before her I can see a kind of buggy trundling away down a dirt track.

Mavka used to be a graphic designer, but a year ago her father was killed fighting Russia. So she decided she needed to do something to help oppose the illegal invasion of her country. 

• 'When everything started, I did not have any deliberations or doubts': Ukrainian women fight for their country
• Alchemist: The Ukrainian who tricks Russian missiles into thinking they're flying over Peru
• Royal Marines bring bagpipes, Beatles and British sea shanties to wounded troops in Kyiv

Now each night she sits driving uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) into Russian targets..

Mavka isn't her real name, it's her callsign.

"Mavka is from Ukrainian mythology," she explains. "You know, like a mermaid in the sea? t's like a mermaid… but in the forest." 

I ask if she enjoys doing this or whether it's just something she feels she should do.

"I enjoy it!" was her answer. "I was not a gamer before. Of course I know this is not a game, but they came to our country, they are destroying our cities and killing our people.

"I'm just doing my work. I don't feel any pity attacking their shelters."

Mavka is one of 100,000 women in Ukraine's one million-strong military. This number has mushroomed since the start of the conflict. 

Indeed, only a few years ago, women who wanted to fight were often told to stick to making dumplings in the kitchen. 

But changes in attitudes and, critically, the rise of unmanned warfare, have made a huge difference to women's place in society in Ukraine.

To be blunt, if a woman isn't expected to drag a man twice her size off the battlefield, but instead sit at a desk driving a UGV or flying a drone to take out the target, then suddenly the playing field is more equal. 

"I think women are becoming more visible now, more influential," says Yana Zalevska,  a 25-year-old originally from Kherson.

"There's real room for growth, and we're starting to get more respect, with people actually listening to what we have to say. Slowly, we're moving away from that old Soviet way of thinking."

Yana, whose callsign is Multik, meaning cartoon, was wounded on the frontline when a Russian first-person-view attack drone exploded above her head.

She was left with severe hearing loss and scars where the shrapnel peppered her body. 

Months later she was back on the frontline training to be a drone pilot. Last year she set up an all-female drone unit known as The Amazons Banshee.

She says it's still difficult to convince people to accept this new place for women. 

"When a man joins the army, he's called a hero. When a woman joins, she's asked 'what are you doing here?'. Well, I'm here to stand with you.

"After everything this country has been through, what does it matter who's fighting as long as they're motivated and standing up for Ukraine?

"Yes, having children is important. But right now the priority is winning the war."

Not long after the first FPV attack, another drone targeted Yana’s car. 

The driver swerved, avoiding a head-on collision and saving their lives. Yana took the above video immediately after and posted it on TikTok.

There is compulsory conscription in Ukraine for men between the ages of 25 and 60. It's unlikely they will extend this to women, no matter how short on manpower they become. 

But they are actively trying to recruit women. Last year they launched their first recruitment campaign targeting females.

In another shed across the road from the control centre where we met Mavka is a workshop. 

It's a hive of activity as men unwrap, put together, wire up and arm new UGVs. Among them is Hora – a callsign that means mountain.

Hora is 22, a climber, drummer, guitarist and former computer sciences student.

After two years of her degree she went into her local army recruitment office to see if her skills could be of use.

Of course they said yes.

"We are not weak – we're as strong as men and sometimes we even make critical logical decisions that people thought would never go to women 50/60 years ago," she said.

"At first, I felt some pressure… but everyone is so friendly and just wants to do their job perfectly."

The UGVs are controlled using Starlink and, as a connectivity officer, Hora's job is to ensure they stay connected to their operators. 

Although she's had to put her degree on hold, she sees the war as a huge opportunity.

"I wake up every morning going like 'gosh, I'm going to learn a lot right now', and it's amazing. I really like this unit. I think it's the first in the world who does such thing and I think we will succeed in our job."

"What about after the war?" I ask Mavka. 

"Actually, I don't have plans after this war," she tells me, "because I think it will not end soon. I will be here as long as I can, as long as it needed. I also want to be a mother. I also want to have a family, definitely. But I don't think about it now.

"I think my life will never be the same after the war," says Hora, "because it's personal growth – it's an experience – experience changes you."

And she's not afraid of this war.

"If you hide somewhere because of fear then you will never see the world," she pointed out.