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PLAYBOOK SLUG: Ukraine Female Commander – Kosstutschenko
HEADLINE: Called the 'Witch,' Ukrainian Mother Commands Mortar Battery
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 03/xx/2024 at
BYLINE: Anna Kosstutschenko
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Donetsk Region, Ukraine
VIDEOGRAPHER: Pavel Suhodolskiy
VIDEO EDITOR: Pavel Suhodolskiy
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Story Hunter
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:15
TYPE: TVPKG
VID APPROVED BY: KE
EDITOR NOTES:
PLEASE RETURN TO ANNA RICE AND COPY TO HFR PLEASE
((INTRO))
[[Once a successful lawyer, Olha Bihar is now a military commander in Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces. Bihar – who goes by the call sign Witch – oversees a mortar battery. Anna Kosstutschenko has her story.]]
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Armed Forces))
((NATS)) ((Female shouts, loading a mortar launcher)) ((UKR))
“Fire!”
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Olha Bihar))
Her comrades call her the Witch.
((End courtesy))
[[Radio: She says the reason behind her call sign is a secret, which she will reveal after the war ends. But, she says, she'll provide a hint: It's because she can set the sky on fire.]]
((Olha Bihar, Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces)) ((UKR))
“Why I have this call sign is a secret, and I’ve already said I’ll reveal this secret after the war is over. But to give you a hint – it’s because I can set the sky on fire!”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Olha Bihar))
Bihar is from the Donetsk region. She moved to Kyiv in 2014, after Russia-backed separatists started hostilities in Donbas. In Kyiv, Bihar worked as a lawyer.
((End courtesy))
But the day after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bihar joined the Army, leaving her family behind. As she fights, her 7-year-old
((Mandatory courtesy: Olha Bihar))
son waits for her at home.
((End courtesy))
[[radio: She says her son knows what she's doing, and he supports her and says he's proud of her.]]
((Olga Bihar, Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces)) ((UKR))
“He knows what I’m doing, and he supports me. He says he is proud of me!”
((NARRATION)) ((Archival footage of Bihar in the army))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Armed Forces))
Bihar's military service began with the liberation of the Kyiv region in April 2022, shortly after the start of the war. The following November, she joined the artillery troops and was quickly promoted to mortar battery commander.
((End courtesy))
[[radio: She says in artillery troops, she found soulmates with whom she could build an effective unit. When the position in the mortar battery became vacant, she immediately transferred.]]
((Olha Bihar, Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces)) ((UKR))
“In artillery troops, I found my soulmates with whom I could build an effective unit. So, when the position in the mortar battery became vacant, I immediately transferred.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Armed Forces))
Bihar is in charge of a battery of six mortars.
((NATS)) ((Female voice))
“I see it, we’re about to start!”
((End courtesy))
[[Radio: Bihar says she calculates all the corrections and protractors, and takes part in building a whole mortar system.]]
((Olha Bihar, Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces)) ((UKR))
“What I do is I calculate all the corrections and protractors, as well as take part in building a whole mortar system.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Armed Forces))
Bihar says the most important thing she learned on the job is to trust her gut.
((End courtesy))
[[She says, "You just get this gut feeling. If it seems to you that something is off, you have to listen to your intuition, and that is especially true when you are in the military."]]
((Olha Bihar, Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces)) ((UKR))
“You just get this gut feeling, and if it seems to you that something is off, you have to listen to your intuition, and that is especially true when you are in the military.”
((NARRATION)) ((Bihar at command center))
((Mandatory courtesy: Ukrainian Armed Forces))
As of January, more than 45,000 women were serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, according to the Defense Ministry. About 13,400 women were in combat roles, and more than 4,000 were deployed in combat.
((End courtesy))
((Anna Kosstutschenko, VOA News, Donetsk region, Ukraine))
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