Just two months after joining the air defense, 27-year-old Angelina has mastered the soldier’s skill. She was behind the wheel of a pickup truck with an anti-aircraft machine gun mounted, singing a Ukrainian song about rebellion.

Under a tree line near the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, she and her unit of five women set up their weapon and waited. They fired until a Russian Shahed drone was shot down, eliminating yet another threat to daily life in Ukraine.

Shooting down a drone brings her joy. “It’s just an adrenaline rush,” said Angelina for Associated Press, who, like the other women in the unit, gave her statement on the condition that only their names or call signs be used, in accordance with military policy.

More and more women are joining volunteer mobile units responsible for shooting down Russian drones that terrorize Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, as more men are sent to the eastern front line. While women make up only a small part of the country’s armed forces, their service is vital.

With tens of thousands of men reportedly being recruited every month, women have begun taking on traditionally male roles. Around 70 women have been recruited into Bucha’s defense forces in recent months for drone operations, said Colonel Andrii Velarti, the commander of the territorial defense in that area.

This is part of a national initiative to attract part-time female volunteers to fill the ranks of local defense units. Women come from all walks of life. From single mothers to doctors like Angelina, they call themselves the “Witches of Bucha.” Some of them were motivated to volunteer because of the Russian massacre of hundreds of Bucha residents during the months-long occupation of the Kyiv suburb by Russian troops shortly after the invasion in February 2022.

Bodies of men, women, and children were left on the streets, in houses, and in mass graves. “We were here and saw those horrors,” said Angelina, who treated injured residents, including children, during the Russian occupation.

In June, while driving on the highway with her friend Olena, also a doctor, they saw a sign calling for recruits and didn’t hesitate to sign up. “We called, and they immediately said, ‘Yes, come tomorrow,'” she said.

During training in the forest this month, female recruits ranging from 27 to 51 years old were tested on how quickly they could assemble and disassemble rifles. “I have eighth-graders who can do it better,” their instructor shouted.

Recruits were taught about various weapons and mines, tactics, and how to detect Russian infiltrators. Their skills are tailored to a war in which the enemy’s methods are constantly changing.

“We’re not training any less than the men,” said Lidiya, who joined a month ago. The 34-year-old mother of four, a saleswoman, said her main motivation was to do her part to protect her family. Her children see her differently since she started wearing a military uniform.

“I’ve always been the best to them, but now I’m the best in a slightly different way,” she said. On July 31, she was on duty when Russia launched 89 drones, all of which were destroyed. Lidiya was an assistant gunner that night.

“We got ready, went out on the call, and found out there were many targets across Ukraine,” she said. “We had night vision devices, so it was easy to spot the target.” What did she feel when her unit shot down three drones? “Joy and some foul language,” Olena said.

When the sun came up, Angelina and Olena took off their heavy combat gear and headed to the hospital. Another shift, this time in the ICU of the hospital where they work, was about to start. By midnight, they would be back near the tree line, waiting for incoming Russian drones.

“Today I slept for two hours and forty minutes,” Olena said. Their boyfriends are soldiers, and Angelina met hers in the hospital where he was recovering from injuries. The large number of wounded Ukrainian soldiers was one of the reasons she decided to volunteer.

“To bring us closer to victory. If we can do something to help, why not?” she said. Angelina’s boyfriend worries every time she’s on duty and the air raid alarm goes off. He texts her, “be careful,” and when it’s over, “let me know,” despite it being much scarier on the front lines, she said.

Russian drone attacks are usually more intense at night, but daytime attacks are just as deadly. The unit spends entire nights driving back and forth from their base in the forest to their position. Sometimes they stand for hours, waiting to shoot.

“There’s nothing easy about this. To shoot one down, you have to train constantly,” Angelina said. “I have to train constantly, including on simulators.” The more women trained to join the ranks of the territorial defense forces, the safer Ukraine’s skies will be, Angelina said.