Every day, the Monitor has a budget – a list of stories we plan to publish. The top story on today’s budget starts with these words: “Former middle-class housewife turned combat zone commander ...” I was hooked. 

I don’t really want to talk about the article. I want you to read it. It is a remarkable portrait of the front lines in Ukraine, and a view of the world often the Monitor alone provides. It has drones and hardship, jokes, and code names – like Splash, Pikachu, and Mechanic. 

The code name for the housewife-turned-commander? Joy. This is not your ordinary war story.