Inside Ukraine's elite 'Bucha Witches' unit with mums picking up guns to fight Putin

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

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."

Ludmyla's parents have cared for her boys aged nine and 12, and her daughter of 17.

During her mother's time with the army the teenager has developed aspirations to follow her mum's footsteps.

"She likes uniform, weapons and how our girls are taking down drones," Ludmyla added.

Ukrainian mobilisation focuses on men, with those over 25 conscripted to join the forces. But female recruits are playing an increasingly important role.There are 69,000 women in the army, a 41% increase on the pre-invasion figure.

One of the trailblazers is Ludmyla's all-female unit, the Bucha Witches. Their role is to defend the town where some of the worst war crimes of the conflict took place under the Russian occupation.

The battalion leader is known only as Calypso - a reference to her temper, which her comrades joke is comparable to the Greek Goddess of the same name.

The 33-year-old is comfortable with a rifle, having been shooting since the age of six.

Colonel Andrij Verlatyy recalls Calypso showing up with manicured nails and dyed hair at the local army office, demanding to join the fight.

He said: "I remember her walking in with all her tattoos and telling me 'I came here to serve'. I didn't take it seriously but thought I'd give her chance. She was one of the first that started volunteering and has proved herself a very capable fighter."

Calypso spends her nights looking for Russian drones.A few days earlier, her unit shot one out of the sky.

She said: "If you don't take down the drone in the right way you could hurt someone or destroy some infrastructure. I have a responsibility for both my soldiers and for the people living in the area."

Larissa Sinister said she had joined the military because Russians have been killing civilians.

At the other end of the spectrum in terms of experience is Ludmyla Lysenko, 43, a mum of three who had never held a gun before.

The leaders describe Lysenko as “one of the most motivated fighters” in the unit and she wears a steely expression as she crouches at the firing range to let off a full magazine of bullets.

“I realised that if the Russians came here again I would be powerless,” Lysenko said, “I’ve got a little more confidence after learning some of the basics that I would be able to resist the enemy.”

When Vladimir Putin’s forces took over her town three years ago, Lysenko and her family fled Bucha. In the future, the plan the Lysenkos have is a very different.

“Just yesterday me and my husband decided that if there is another invasion the children will go to Kyiv, but the two of us will stay and fight,” she added.

Lysenko’s daughter has also been inspired by her mother to learn how to handle a weapon, which was not something her mother would ever have thought before Russian soldiers came to their doorstep.

“I was really worried my daughter would be scared by the war,” she said.

“But now she says ‘mum’ enrol me into courses for weapon training. My daughter plays violin and performs ballet, so joining the army does not fit with the tender girl I know she is.”

The 43-year-old believes that women across Europe should prepare themselves to be attacked. She encourages her niece, who lives in London, along with other women in the UK, to gain such skills.

“No one knows where the danger lies. In a peaceful land, sometimes it’s even easier for someone to attack because everyone is relaxed,” she added.

“That’s why people should at least go through courses of tactical medicine and usage of weapons to know something and provide help for them and their relatives.”