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Ukraine war: Meet Bucha's female unit who gun down Russian drones

BBC
Summary
Nutrition label

66% Informative

The Witches of Bucha , as they call themselves, are a volunteer air defence unit made up almost entirely of women.

Many say it’s a way of overcoming the powerlessness they felt when Russian forces occupied Bucha region at the start of the full-scale invasion.

'It's scary, yes. But so's giving birth, and I still did that three times,' says Valentyna .

The Witches spend their weekends undergoing a broader military training.

They practice in the ruins of a farm outhouse, poking rifles round empty doorways.

The women’s commitment and focus is clear because their reasons for doing this are deep and personal.

Under occupation, I felt the utter pointlessness of my existence. I wanted to learn how to use weapons, so I could be some use’.

VR Score

62

Informative language

54

Neutral language

61

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

28

Offensive language

possibly offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

Source diversity

1

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