Kindergarten teacher becomes national hero by downing missile
A short video is going viral online. It shows a woman armed with a portable Igla air defence system destroying a Russian cruise missile. The description indicates that this daring military display was a successful combat action performed by the female soldier after five months of training in using this weapon.
18 November 2024 13:31
In civilian life, Natalia Grabarczuk was a kindergarten teacher. When the war started, she went to the front. Since then, she has continuously improved her soldiering skills.
She is constantly acquiring new combat skills. The latest video capturing Natalia's combat action evidences that military training is the path to perfection on the front.
A kindergarten teacher on the frontline: Destroyed a Russian missile
The camera recorded how the woman destroys a Russian cruise missile using an Igla MANPADS, a handheld portable air defence system against missile attacks. Her colleagues observing her appreciated this achievement.
"She got it," comments the cameraman joyfully, who recorded the female soldier's spectacular action. The Armed Forces of Ukraine published the video.
A post online states that this was Natasza Garbarczuk's first combat launch and first shot with this weapon. She completed a five-month training course at the centre and mastered the operation of various portable air defence systems.
As Natalia herself says, she previously conducted many operations on simulators. When a real enemy missile appeared before her, she put aside all her emotions and coolly took the shot.
"I conducted hundreds of training launches on simulators. Then - the first combat launch and a direct hit. The portable air defence system weighs about 18 kilograms, and the responsibility is also a burden. I'm very proud that I succeeded," she said.
She also emphasised that she is not the only woman on the mobile fire team. "We make every effort to achieve results; we give it our all," she said.
The Air Force reported that Natalia Grabarczuk, a former kindergarten teacher, is a shooter in the anti-aircraft missile unit of the Galician-Volhynian Radiotechnical Brigade of the Western Air Command. She completed another five months of training at a military centre.
