The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Miroslava from Kharkiv is an FPV drone operator in the 128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade “Wild Field”.
Her story was shared on the brigade’s Facebook page.
Miroslava goes on missions, destroys the enemy, and has already identified her favorite targets.
“I like flying into shelters. They can be quite difficult — sometimes it’s just tiny windows, which requires skill and adrenaline”, — she says.
She did not plan a military career. She worked as a barista, then as a bar assistant, and studied psychology at university.
But at some point, she realized that during a war for the country’s survival, amid brutal missile strikes on civilian cities, she could not see herself as a psychologist. So she decided to join the army.
“My family wasn’t thrilled, to put it mildly. But I had made my decision and chose not to back down”, — she recalls.
Miroslava went to the recruitment center, completed basic military training, and later studied at a drone operator school.
“The hardest part was learning firmware, communication systems, and antennas. But flying turned out not to be difficult at all”, — she says.
Now she carries out combat missions with her unit. Rotations are long — sometimes lasting weeks — but she does not complain.
“It feels like I’ve become addicted to adrenaline. It’s not about neglecting safety — we are very strict about that. It’s about the thrill of controlling an FPV drone in combat, when it instantly responds to every movement and flies exactly where I want. It’s far more exciting than working in a café or bar”.
The hardest moments are entering abandoned, damaged homes. Sometimes it feels like the owners just stepped out — the atmosphere inside remains so warm.
That’s when Miroslava feels like she is looking into someone else’s life.
She dreams that these homes will stand and that their owners will return. That is why she goes on every combat mission.
