Female pilot dismissed from Italian Air Force after hazing complaint, joins Ukrainian forces

An Italian fighter pilot. who was dismissed from the country's air force after she complained of being "bullied" by her seniors, has now joined Ukrainian resistance forces against Russia.

Giulia Schiff, 23, was kicked out of the Italian Air force after she took eight sergeants to court for harassing her as part of "hazing." Hazing essentially means playing pranks on or ridiculing a new member of a fraternity.

The incident had come to light in 2018 when a video of her being hit by male colleagues during the initiation ceremony, went viral on social media.

In the video, Schiff could be seen being whipped and her head being pounded against the wing of a plane before she is finally thrown into a swimming pool.

She was dismissed from service when she complained about the incident and took the eight people involved in the act to court, she was expelled under the pretext that she had "insufficient military aptitude."

The military academy had then said that the "pool dive is an old-fashioned act that traditionally concludes the training course."

Giulia Schiff has now joined Ukraine's International Legion and is serving near Kyiv. She has been filming her mission as a mini-documentary for an investigative reporting program.

"I was born for this, to help our Ukrainian brothers and to prevent the war from reaching us. I am going against the tide. While many are fleeing, I head towards the fighting areas," she had told a journalist.

"We need to help a country that cannot defend itself, invaded by one of the world's powers, among other things for ridiculous reasons,'' Schiff was quoted as saying by Mirror.

There are around 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries who have joined the Ukrainian forces to fight against Russia.

The Ukrainian International Legion was formed after President Volodymyr Zelensky called on people to come and help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.