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VLADIMIR Putin will be assassinated by his own henchmen, Ukraine’s deadliest female sniper has warned.
Olena Bilozerska, 44, became a national hero in Ukraine after chilling footage was posted showing her killing two Russian soldiers.
Doug Seeburg
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She started her military career as a volunteer sniper in 2014Facebook
APA former journalist from Kyiv, Olena started her military career as a volunteer sniper in 2014 before joining the army as an officer in 2018 and serving as a commander for two years in Donbas.
She was demobilised in 2020 – but when Putin, 70, invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Olena immediately returned to the frontline.
And she now serves in Ukraine’s Artan Special Unit – leading brave and daring missions in the fight against Russia‘s 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.”
But the Ukrainian sniper added: “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.”
Olena was first stationed in Dnipro as a volunteer sniper after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014.
She was involved in the campaign to allow women to enlist in the Ukrainian military – which was legalised in 2016 – and became an officer in 2018.
Rising up the ranks, Olena served as the commander of an artillery platoon for two years in Donbas.
When she demobilised in 2020, she resumed life as a civilian, writer, and veterans’ advocate – winning celebrity status in Ukraine for her best-selling book called Diary of an Illegal Soldier about her time in the trenches.
But Olena had no hesitation about returning to the frontline in 2022 with her soldier husband to fight Putin’s troops.
“When I was demobilised, I already knew then that if the situation at the front worsened, I would immediately return to the army,” she said.
“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.”
For Olena, February 24 was the toughest day of the war as Putin’s forces tried to storm the capital of Kyiv.
“It was scary – if the occupiers captured Kyiv, they would have killed my parents,” she said.
“When we drove the enemies away from the capital, it became morally easier.”
Comparing today’s battle against Russia with the fighting in 2014 and 2017, Olena said the nature of war has become more difficult.
“The enemy’s drones are very annoying – no matter what you do, the enemy sees you almost all the time,” she said.
“There are also positive points. Now there is no prohibition to strike not only on temporarily occupied territories, but also on enemy territory of Russia.”
As an officer, Olena is planning and leading raids and missions in the Defence Intelligence unit of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.
And she says she has no fear of combat.
“Adrenaline works. In combat, you just work. It’s scary before the combat, but I can control this fear,” she said.
“Each of us has determination. We are all volunteers in the unit, all are motivated, we all want to protect our state, otherwise we would not be here.
“There is some hesitation when we plan the details of the mission.
“But we never hesitate that the mission must take place and we must take part in it. And we feel pride after a job well done.”
What's happening in Ukraine?
The Russo-Ukrainian War has been an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine - which began in February 2014.
The latest period of fighting was sparked by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 when the Russian president announced a “special military operation” to “demilitarise and denazify” the country.
Missiles and airstrikes hit across Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv, followed by a large ground invasion along multiple fronts.
Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law and mobilisation of all male Ukrainian citizens between 18 and 60 – and they were banned from leaving the country.
War has been raging ever since – and it has caused the largest refugee and humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s.
The UN also described it as the fastest-growing conflict since World War Two.
As of August 2023, the number of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed or wounded was estimated to be nearly 500,000.
The situation on the ground has changed little in recent months despite Ukraine’s counter-offensive, which began in June.
As the war against Putin grinds on, Olena said Ukraine must continue to fight to take back control of its internationally recognised territories within the 1991 borders.
“After that, Ukraine must isolate itself from Russia with a reliable and very well-fortified border, strengthen its army, and finally join Nato,” she said.
“Russia is fighting against us, not because it doesn’t like the current Ukrainian government or the Ukrainian political course, but because it is not satisfied with the very existence of Ukraine.
“If Russia is not defeated on the battlefield, it will not stop trying to conquer Ukraine.
“As history and practice show, Russian politicians never keep their promises. Any peace treaty they sign, they will break.
“There is nothing to discuss and negotiate with them.”
In 2022, when footage emerged of Olena gunning down Russian separatists, she told The Sun she would not hesitate to kill again if Putin’s force invades – and felt no remorse.
She said: “Moral anguish about the murder of a human was invented by people far from the war. An armed enemy is not a person, but a target.
“You take up a weapon against my country – that’s it, you’re a target. If you don’t take him out in time, he might kill you or one of your comrades.
“If I didn’t shoot in time and the target hid, that’s when I feel angry at myself for missing my chance. And if the target is hit, I feel the pleasure of a job well done.
“When the enemy crawls towards our position to kill me, does he think if I have a husband, parents, or kids? – of course not.
“That stuff is for books and movies. Anyone who thinks along those lines in battle is already as good as dead.”
Olena’s husband Valeriy Voronov – a regular soldier who was beside her in the trench – collected the cartridge casings which fell as she pulled off her double kill.
And he later made a silver ring with the bottom of a bullet cartridge mounted into it for her following a sniper tradition dating back to World War One.
Olena – left with paralysis in her right cheek when a machine gun bullet grazed her face during a firefight – blasted the Hollywood depiction of the sniper’s role.
She said: “In the movies, it looks as if a sniper sees the eyes of a living human. But you cannot see the eyes.
“You just see a silhouette of an armed person and you fire at it. That’s all… if you miss, you will feel as if you’ve lost.”
Doug Seeburg
Doug Seeburg
Doug Seeburg
Doug Seeburg
Doug Seeburg
Olena was left with paralysis in her right cheek when a machine gun bullet grazed her face during a firefightDoug Seeburg
English (US)