Olena Bilozerska

Olena Leonidivna Bilozerska (Ukrainian: ; born 5 August 1979) is a Ukrainian sniper and journalist. She served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and in Ukrainian volunteer battalions during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Life

Prior to her military service, Bilozerska was a poet and a journalist. In 2011, her apartment was searched by Ukrainian authorities and her electronic devices were confiscated. The search was decried by human rights groups as a violation of freedom of the press, as Bilozerska was not accused of a crime.

Bilozerska saved money for two years to buy her rifle, She began her military career as a volunteer sniper, She was first stationed in Dnipro, Ukraine, shortly after the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War in April 2014.

Bilozerska was involved in the movement to allow women to formally enlist in the Ukrainian military, which was legalized in 2016. Bilozerska's reputation has made her a common target of Russian web brigades,