For this housewife-turned-commander, the Ukrainian battlefield is the place to be

In an abandoned building near the tense Avdiivka front line, Ananda, a housewife-turned-combat zone commander, leads a team of Ukrainian soldiers in a high-stakes training exercise. With Russians stationed less than 9 miles away, they test a series of explosives on the eve of a drone attack mission.

“This is not your ordinary training,” explains Ananda, her eyes scanning the equipment laid out before her. “It’s as close to real conditions as possible.”

A native of the embattled Kharkiv region, Ananda has been on Ukraine’s front lines since Russia unleashed war on Ukraine in February 2022. The petite but tough commander, whose code name means “joy,” is part of a new generation