Dozens of female soldiers have taken part in a beauty parade to mark International Women 's Day . The women , from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People 's Republic , swapped their combats for floor-length dresses as hundreds of people gathered to admire their natural beauty . The stunning set of photographs captured the nerves backstage as well as the excitement of walking the catwalk . All of the models looked overjoyed after the event and were given flowers to mark the occasion . International Women 's Day is on March 8 . The first was held in 1911 and thousands of events occur across the world to mark the economic , political and social achievements of women . Glamarous : Dozens of female soldiers have taken part in a beauty parade in Donetsk to mark International Women 's Day . Soldiers : The women , from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People 's Republic , swapped their combats for floor-length dresses . The stunning gowns feature intricate detailing on the back and range in colour from black to silver to red . Several of the women , who have just had their hair done , peek through a door while they wait for the previous round to finish . The first International Women 's Day was held in 1911 and thousands of events take place across the world to mark it . Ukraine 's Russian-backed rebel soldiers swapped combat fatigues for high fashion when they took to the catwalk . The soldiers strutted their stuff down a catwalk wearing long gowns - quite different from their usual combats . As well as walking down a catwalk in their ballgowns the women looked beautiful posing in combats and outdoor gear . Combats : As well as beautiful gowns , the women posed in their army uniforms for the camera at the show . Five more women join the stage , showing that their usual uniforms can be equally as flattering . One female soldier , who has just had her hair done , peeks through a door and watches her friends take to the stage . A helper applies make-up to a woman while she makes a quick change into her dress backstage . The soldiers gathered in a changing room with one small mirror and were happy to discuss their outfit choices with each other . A woman in dark green combats clutches a black pair of heels while she waits for her turn to take to the stage . Two girls , from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People 's Republic , giggle as they change out of their everyday uniforms . Red seems to be a popular colour when it comes to dresses . One helper uses hairspray to keep a woman 's perfect curls in place . Red lipstick matched the pretty red dresses worn by the women soldiers at the fashion show today . Hundreds of photographs were taken throughout the day and all of the women who took part enjoyed posing . Some of the soldiers chose to wear their medals on top of their combats as they gave out flowers . The women were presented with flowers and gifts after strutting their stuff on the catwalk at the show to mark International Women 's Day . All of the women who took part in the event were presented with gift bags and a single red rose . A pretty soldier wearing army uniform holds up her masculine boots before changing into a long gown .
Soldiers took part in beauty parade to mark International Women 's Day . Stunning set of photographs were taken in Donetsk earlier today .