Russian sniper who 'admitted to killing 40 Ukrainians' is captured

A female Russian sniper who has reportedly admitted to “killing 40 Ukrainians including civilians” has been captured by Kyiv’s forces.

Irina Starikova, 41, whose codename is Bagira, was seized after she was wounded and left to die by her fellow soldiers, according to local media reports.

Ukraine’s armed forces posted a photo of the mum of two announcing her capture, claiming that she “shot our prisoners in 2014”.

Starikova, reportedly from Serbia, has served in the Russian separatist Donetsk region in Ukraine’s east for eight years, the Peacemaker centre, which researches the crimes of Russian separatists, says.

Giorgi Revishvili, with the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, claims Starikova is responsible for “killing 40 Ukrainians including civilians”, The Sun reports.

Local news outlets say the 41-year-old was given medical treatment after her capture.

“They left, knowing that I was injured and had the opportunity to pick me up…hoping that I would die,” they quote her.

Described as having “blood on her hands”, the sniper’s fate is unclear.

It’s believed Ukraine has been hunting Starikova for years.

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Sniper's husband admits to killing more than 100 Ukrainians

The whereabouts of Starikova's husband, Alexander Ogrenich, are unknown.

The 43-year-old who goes by Gorynych is believed to head the Russian separatist's “intelligence unit” in Donetsk.

In one interview, Ogrenich reportedly admitted to killing “a lot” of Ukrainians.

“The figure is over one hundred. And if you could see the enemy in the scope, what would you do?” he said, identifying his enemy as “Ukrainian fascists”.

A video has emerged of the couple on a “day off” from killing in 2016.

“Today is our day off and because today is our six-month anniversary,” he can be heard saying.

“I decided to give you a big present.

“I love you very much.

“Today you and I will have a rest, and tomorrow, as always.”

She replies: “Same as always. Service is service.”

He told her: “And anyway, you see how great things are between us….”

“And will be better,” she said.

“The war will end and it will be even better,” he told her.

Ogrenich has admitted that before the current war civilians on both sides of a demarcation line were caught in attacks by the pro-Russians he fought alongside.

“Of course, peaceful people are suffering,” he said in an interview with a Belarus news site six years ago.

“We cannot be perfect. It happens when there is a mass strike - well, you can't get away from it, you know yourself that this is war.

“There are casualties through our fault too, I won't deny it.

“If it wasn't for Russia, we would all be dead here.”

East2West/Australscope

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