A video recently released by the Russian Defense Ministry features a female drone pilot reporting the details of a successful battle against Ukrainian forces. Women are being increasingly accepted for combat roles in the country, marking a shift in gender roles.

The short clip published on Monday showed a first-person-view drone operator named Yekaterina, whom the ministry described as a “delicate girl with an iron character.” She explained the role that short-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) played in the liberation of Belitskoye, a town in the Donetsk People’s Republic, that Russian forces reportedly completed three weeks ago.

The ministry previously said the battle required coordinated efforts by multiple drone units supporting assault troops. It produced several similar videos praising pilots who participated in the operation.

Women have been accepted in the Russian armed forces for decades, but most of them served as communications and logistic specialists or medics. Nurses operating close to the front line are regularly exemplified for their courage.

During World War II however, a wide range of combat roles were open to women, producing notable examples like acclaimed sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko and the all-female pilots of the night bomber regiment known as the Night Witches.

The mass introduction of drones during the Ukraine conflict and the creation of dedicated Unmanned Systems Troops within the armed forces has apparently shifted Russian generals’ attitude to female troops.

In March, the military’s official publication, Krasnaya Zvezda, printed an article about the life journey of a female drone pilot with the callsign Bayana. A childhood fan of radio-controlled cars and planes, she enlisted in a private military company in 2024 to pursue her chosen career as a drone ace, the report said. The option to enroll in Russian UAV forces has since been opened for women.