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 
international women's day donetsk earlier today
soldiers took part in beauty parade to mark international women's day . stunning set of photographs were taken in donetsk earlier today 