Maria Berlinska – Mother of Drones

July 25, 2023November 2, 2025

Maria Berlinska is a Ukrainian public figure and volunteer of Jewish descent. She’s the founder and head of the Public Association “Aerial Reconnaissance Support Center,” which conducted drone operator training courses and imported UAVs. In 2017, she made it into Kyiv Post’s 2017 Ukraine’s Top 30 Under 30 ranking.

When the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, Maria joined the Aidar Battalion. As part of it, she participated in combat operations, being responsible for aerial reconnaissance. In August 2014, she went to aerial reconnaissance training courses. While taking drone operation courses, Maria discovered the state doesn’t provide the army with either specialists or drones in sufficient quantities. Therefore, she found like-minded people and together with them created the Aerial Reconnaissance Support Center, which has been operating since January 2015.

From Volunteer to Public Association Founder

After the Orcs’* full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Maria joined volunteer support for Armed Forces fighters. That same year, Maria founded “Victory Drones” — a project of general technological militarization of Ukrainian society and technological strengthening of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces.

Her goal became to improve the direction and transfer aerial reconnaissance skills to Ukrainian military personnel. At Maria Berlinska’s initiative, drone control courses appeared. Maria herself calls it differently — “training technically literate fighters for 21st-century warfare.” She believes one aerial reconnaissance operator per platoon (as in the Ukrainian army) is insufficient. Maria’s quote:

There shouldn’t be such a profession as aerial reconnaissance operator — everyone should know how to use technologies. Just as a soldier previously had to know how to disassemble a rifle and dig a trench, in the 21st century he must know how to apply technologies.

Mother of Drones: Ukraine’s Daenerys with UAVs instead of dragons

In other words, every Ukrainian soldier should know how to operate drones. The goal is ambitious. But it’s not for nothing they call Maria Berlinska the “Mother of Drones” — like Daenerys Targaryen commanded dragons, Maria unleashes technological fire from the skies. Her dragons are UAVs, and her army numbers 28,000 Ukrainian servicemembers who have passed through her training program. So there are good chances Maria will achieve her goal.

*Orcs – a common term for Russians who support or participate in the armed aggression against Ukraine.