Putin loses his first female army chief in missile strike
Colonel boasted to her fellow troops: I love to kill Ukrainians
A RUSSIAN army commander who boasted of how she enjoyed killing Ukrainians has died in a missile strike, delivering yet another blow to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Lieutenant Colonel Olga ‘ Korsa’ Kachura, who called herself ‘She-wolf’, is Moscow’s first senior woman in uniform to die in the conflict.
A rocket struck Kachura’s car in the city of Horlivka, Donetsk, killing her instantly.
The 52-year-old, a Ukrainian from the separatist region of Donetsk who helped found the local militia, earned legendary status in the Russian army, leading hundreds of men into combat and dismissing the human cost of her actions.
Her status grew when she appeared in Kremlin propaganda videos revelling in taking the lives of her countrymen, telling the camera: ‘I
‘She called herself She-wolf’
enjoy killing Ukrainians every time.’ At the time of her death, the mother-of-two was commanding an artillery unit that has been accused of shelling civilians.
According to Ukraine, she would even disguise herself as one of their officers in a bid to deflect blame for her ‘war crimes’. The Kremlin marked her passing by granting her a posthumous medal, the Hero of Russia, its highest award.
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said he had awarded her the medal for ‘courage and heroism in the performance of military duty’.
The death of such a figurehead is the latest blow for his forces, whose offensive in the Donetsk region has slowed markedly while they face a Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson.
Kremlin propagandists yesterday paid tribute to the commander, who continued serving on the front line despite being wounded in action at least twice.
Margarita Simonyan, from the Russia Today TV channel, said: ‘Legendary Korsa died in Horlivka. May she rest in peace.
‘The Chief [Putin] awarded her the title Hero of Russia. That’s how it is supposed to be. These are our common heroes.’
Before defecting to the Russian military, Kachura was a detective with the Ukrainian police in Horlivka, where she was head of the local powerlifting federation, and an honorary citizen of the city.
Kachura was the 97th Russian colonel to die in the conflict. She had held the rank of colonel in the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ forces since 2015.
Though the Donetsk region is in eastern Ukraine, pro-Kremlin officials have declared independence from the country.
Mayor of Horlivka Ivan Prikhodko said: ‘A brave and wise woman who was there from the start of the People’s Militia of the DPR has tragically died.
‘Olga Kachura, victorious and unshakeable Korsa.’
In a recent Russia Today documentary Kachura called herself ‘She-wolf’, saying: ‘She guards the hearth, her children, her family. In nature, no wolf will defend a cub as aggressively as a she-wolf’.
Last year Ukraine sentenced Kachura to 12 years in prison and confiscated her property for ‘participation in a terrorist group or terrorist organisation’, and she was declared a ‘wanted’ women.
Putin has lost two more colonels this week, the latest proof of the devastating toll his higher ranks have suffered.
At least a dozen Russian generals have been killed so far.