Ukrainian Snepers are challenging Putin's troops-The Economist

The history of several of them was told by The Economist. The 24-year-old blonde with silicone lips and Sultan's call sign uses the American sniper rifle of Barrett, which he calls "the love of his life. " She is one of three girls involved in extended sniper exercises in the forests of Western Ukraine. Journalists watched how the preparation was going on. In the shooting, the instructor said: "Three targets; 186 meters, shoot on the defeat.

" A fan of Turkish soap operas - hence the call sign "Sultan" - lay on the ground, waved the tail of the hair behind the back, and after shots all the balls deviated no more than an inch from the target. Like her colleagues "Phoenix" and Oksana, Sultan calls herself a soldier volunteer of territorial defense. However, the situation on the forefront dictates its conditions. The first stage of adaptation occurs in the forest. Snipers participate in tactics, ballistics and movement.

Under normal conditions, this course takes a year and a half. But in Ukraine, where the life cycle has accelerated, military training can last only a few weeks. The first deployment is the northern border with Belarus, where Russian forces can prepare an invasion or threaten the second year by attack on Kyiv. According to the developer of training sessions with the call sign "MP" - the only biographical detail he reported - initially the idea to use as snipers of women raised doubts.

He now believes that women are even more suitable for this profession than men. Women are light and skillful without unnecessary noise, the instructor explained. In general, they are more patient and less prone to unjustified risks. Of the 90 candidates after passing the tests, five people were selected - two of them were two. The decision planned for October to involve certain professions in the military service has been revised, recently the face of the Ukrainian army has become more feminine.

According to the deputy head of the Ministry of Defense Anna Malyar, at least 30 female soldiers serve in the Armed Forces. Most doctors, pressecretaries, chefs, communications, experts who evacuate the wounded or dead. However, the number of those who perform the tasks on the forefront grows. There are at least five thousand, tens of them are snipers. Women who participate in sniper training said they faced many obstacles. As a rule, men who mostly believe that women are not suitable for this work.

"We have never been looking for a light life," Phoenix explained, "but we argue that we need every time the question arises. " She has no illusions about the dangers associated with this military specialty. The sniper is given a special place in the psychology of servicemen, and in the case of detention with them behave with demonstrative cruelty. "If a woman seven is caught, she is raped, humiliated, tortured and then executed," Oksana explained.

"The sniper should always be ready to pull out a check from a grenade. " Not everyone tells relatives about their work. Oksana reported that her mother offered money and shelter in Europe when the war began. Obviously, he does not know that the daughter serves in the Armed Forces. For their part, Phoenix and Sultan left young children and former men at home. According to the Sultan, her eight -year -old daughter is already thinking that the mother may die.

"She told me that she would be glowing, but in her heart there will always be a place for me," the woman explained. But there is no road back. Her baby is the reason why she is forced to fight. "I do my best to keep her generation deal with Putin and his fierce world," the girl explained. Recall that the United States refused Ukraine to supply ATACMS missiles, but offered an alternative.