Ukrainian grandma says she's too old to fight Russians in the infantry so learned to pilot drones instead

Thibault Spirlet
·2 min read
164

  • A Ukrainian grandma described joining the Ukrainian military.

  • The 54-year-old grandma of six said she was too old for infantry service, so became a drone pilot.

  • Serving "is a great honor because not only men but also women have to defend the country," she said.

A Ukrainian grandmother said she joined the Ukrainian military as a drone pilot as a way to fight, despite being unable to join the infantry.

The woman, referred to only by her first name, Natalia, spoke to Suspilne Ukraine, a public broadcaster.

Natalia described herself as a 54-year-old grandmother of six, per the broadcaster's TikTok video. She said she used to be a thermal power engineer.

She said her age ruled her out of infantry service — joking that she wasn't allowed to run and jump like its soldiers.

But, she said, there are no age restrictions when it comes to piloting unmanned aerial vehicles.

Playing a role in Ukraine's army "is a great honor because not only men but also women have to defend the country," she said, according to a translation by Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor in Ukraine's internal affairs ministry.

A female Ukrainian soldier with a drone remote during training
A female Ukrainian soldier learning to use a drone control during training at a drone school on October 26, 2023 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine.Getty Images

She added that her main motivation to fight "must be love for your country and a strong desire to destroy the enemy so that they never want to set foot on our land again."

The video was shot in the Dnipro region at an undisclosed time and location.

In the comment section, TikTok users praised her for her courage and thanked her for her service.

Ukrainian women have contributed to the war effort in and out of the battlefield.

5,000 of the 60,000 women serving in Ukraine's combat roles are paramedics and snipers, Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniia Kravchuk said, per the US Department of State.

Evgeniya Emerald, a 31-year-old female sniper serving on the front lines, told the BBC that she thought women were especially deadly in that role.

There have been difficulties, though. In July, female soldiers said the Ukrainian military had failed to take their size and needs into consideration.

Women described issues ranging from stumbling in men's outsized shoes to developing health problems as a result of not being able to relieve themselves properly on the battlefield, the Daily Beast reported at the time.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense responded by approving a summer field uniform for female soldiers and working on women's bulletproof vests, Insider previously reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider