Women step up to clear land of Russian mines

Snigurivka Deminer Tetiana Shpak crouched down in a once tranquil poppy-strewn field in southern Ukraine, now littered with Russian mines.

Just a few years ago, this scene would have been impossible - until 2018 women were banned from becoming deminers, a profession long considered too dangerous for them.

"I did not think that my path would lead here," said the 51-year-old former maths teacher whose face was covered with a thick protective mask.

But the Russian invasion in February 2022 changed that.

After first helping to build fortifications to repel Moscow's soldiers and then losing her father in a bombardment, Shpak said she "really wanted to be useful".

More women like her are joining mine-clearance teams, where they now account for 30% of personnel, according to official data.

A similar trend has unfolded in other professions once dominated by men that have been drained of labour by mobilisation and emigration.