"Wounded and Abandoned"... Russian Sniper Captured After Killing Over 40 Ukrainian Civilians and Others

Captured Russian Sniper "I Think They Wanted Me Dead"

Sniper Irina Starikova captured by the Ukrainian army. Photo by Twitter screen capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] More than a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, a Russian sniper who killed about 40 Ukrainians in this war was captured alive by the Ukrainian military.

On the 28th (local time), British media The Sun and others reported that Irina Starikova (41), a Serbian-born sniper codenamed "Bagheera," was wounded on the battlefield and abandoned by her comrades. The name "Bagheera" is said to be taken from the black panther character who is the protagonist's friend in the movie "The Jungle Book." "Bagheera" originates from the Hindi word referring to tigers and leopards.

Previously, Starikova was known to have served with Russian separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine since 2014, killing dozens of soldiers and civilians. Because of this, she was wanted by the Ukrainian military.

Starikova told Ukrainian media, "The Russian army knew I was injured and had a chance to rescue me, but they left. I think they wanted me to die."

The Ukrainian military officially announced Starikova's capture on the 26th. Through their official Twitter account, the authorities posted a photo of Starikova, stating, "We captured the sniper 'Bagheera,' who shot our prisoners in 2014, in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatist rebels."

George Levishvili, a researcher at the War Studies Department of King's College London, also shared the news, pointing out, "The notorious sniper has been captured. He is accused of killing 40 Ukrainians, including civilians."

According to the 'Peacemaker' Center, which studies crimes committed by pro-Russian separatist rebels, Starikova has two daughters aged 11 and 9. Her remarried husband is also a soldier from Belarus, reportedly fighting for the pro-Russian separatist armed forces.

Meanwhile, delegations from Russia and Ukraine began the 5th round of peace talks at 10:10 a.m. on the 29th at the Dolmabah?e Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. The two sides held three face-to-face negotiations on the 28th of last month, and the 3rd and 7th of this month. Since the 14th, the 4th round of talks has continued in the form of video conferences.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.