Vladimir Putin may face assassination at the hands of his loyalists, warned Ukraine’s deadliest female sniper.
Olena Bilozerska, 44, gained national hero status in Ukraine following the release of chilling footage depicting her neutralising two Russian soldiers.
Originally a journalist from Kyiv, Olena embarked on her military journey as a volunteer sniper in 2014, eventually transitioning to become an officer in 2018. For two years, she commanded troops in Donbas.
Although demobilised in 2020, Olena swiftly returned to the frontlines upon Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Currently, she serves in Ukraine’s Artan Special Unit, leading courageous and audacious missions in the ongoing battle against Russian forces.
On the future of Putin, Olena – credited with at least 10 confirmed kills – believes the tyrant “will not live to see the international tribunal where he will be judged”.
She told The Sun: “When the Russian elite realises that Putin’s rule is becoming unprofitable for them, he will be poisoned or otherwise killed by his own henchmen. Of course I would kill him if I could – but it’s unrealistic for me to get such a chance.
“The next Russian leader will not be a friend of Ukraine. But he will have to seek peace with the Western countries in order to rebuild war-torn Russia, and therefore will make some concessions.”
Asked to describe Putin, Olena simply said: “An inadequate person. If Putin succeeds in conquering Ukraine, his next victims will be Moldova, Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland. Putin has already threatened Finland because of its joining Nato.”
After the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, Olena initially served as a volunteer sniper stationed in Dnipro.
She actively campaigned for the inclusion of women in the Ukrainian military, a cause that was officially sanctioned in 2016, and subsequently became an officer in 2018.
Ascending through the ranks, Olena assumed the role of commander for an artillery platoon in Donbas, where she served for two years. Upon her demobilisation in 2020, Olena transitioned back to civilian life, resuming her roles as a writer and advocate for veterans’ rights.
She gained widespread recognition in Ukraine for her bestselling book, “Diary of an Illegal Soldier,” which chronicles her experiences in the trenches. However, Olena did not hesitate to return to the frontlines in 2022 alongside her husband, a fellow soldier, to confront Putin’s troops.
She said: “When I was demobilised, I already knew then that if the situation at the front worsened, I would immediately return to the army.
“A few days before the start of a full-scale Russian invasion, when it became clear that it was inevitable, my husband and I and my brothers-in-arms, with whom we had fought together since 2014, signed up for one of the army units.
“And on the morning of February 24, 2022, we arrived for duty.”
