Canadian female fighter at the forefront of Ukraine’s drone war (video Interview)

02/06/2026

The Kyiv Independent’s Jared Goyette speaks with a Canadian volunteer, Brittney Shki-Giizis, who left the Canadian military to fight in Ukraine. A former tank instructor, she explains why she chose to come to the front, how she learned Ukrainian to serve in a Ukrainian unit, and how the war’s shift toward drones led her to become an FPV (first-person view) drone pilot. She also reflects on being a woman in the Ukrainian military, the realities behind drone warfare, the cost of losing comrades, and why she believes any ceasefire without security guarantees would only delay Russia’s next attack.