Ukraine has hailed Charcoal, a woman sniper, as the ‘hero of the modern war’. Comparisons have been drawn to ‘Lady Death’, the iconic sharpshooter who served in the Red Army and killed 306 enemy soldiers by the time she was 25
Charcoal joined the Ukrainian army in 2017 and fought in the east of the country against Russian-backed separatists. Image Courtesy: ??? ?? ???????/Facebook
Ukraine has a new national hero and it’s a woman sniper. She is only identified by her call sign “Ugoloik” which means “Charcoal” and the Ukrainian armed forces have hailed her a “hero of the modern war”.
Charcoal has been compared to Lady Death, dubbed the deadliest woman sharpshooter in history, who was part of World War II.
We take a look at the stories of Charcoal and Lady Death, women who fought on the frontline more than 80 years apart but are now part of the legend.
Charcoal
The images of the sniper were released by the Ukrainian army on Facebook. Her face is partially hidden by a shemagh-style scarf, her weapon covered in camouflage netting.
The markswoman reportedly joined the Ukrainian army in 2017 and fought in the east of the country against Russian-backed separatists.
Back on duty
She was on a break but when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, she reported back on duty.
“These are not people. The Nazis were not as vile as these orcs,” the sniper reportedly said of the Russians, reports The New York Post. “We will definitely win. Personally, I will stand to the last!”
Charcoal is determined not to spare Russian soldiers. “We must take them all out,” she said.
The Ukrainian armed forces have not provided any information on her successes in the war. But if Charcoal is indeed a war hero, she joins a tradition of brave women sharpshooters from the country.
Lady Death
The most-talked-about woman sniper in history, Ukraine-born Lyudmila Pavlichenko served in the Soviet Red Army and reportedly slew more than 300 Nazi soldiers in World War II. She earned the nickname “Lady Death” and was named a Hero of the Soviet Union, the USSR’s highest honour, and awarded the Order of Lenin.
Pavlichenko took to shooting at a young age, joining a shooting club. While attending Kyiv University, she enrolled in a sniper school.
The Red Army Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlyuchenko defends Sevastopol from the Nazis on 6 June 1942. AFP
When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Pavlichenko reached the recruiting office in Odessa. The recruiting officer dissuaded her, asking her to become a nurse instead. But Pavlichenko was not the one to budge.
After joining the Red Army, Pavlichenko had troubles of her own. There was a shortage of weapons and she had to make do with a frag grenade instead of a rifle, according to HISTORY UK. “It was very frustrating to have to observe the course of battle with just a single grenade in one’s hand,” Pavlichenko wrote in her memoirs titled Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin’s Sniper.
‘Baptism by fire’
An injured soldier who could not carry on, handed Pavlichenko his Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle. It wasn’t long for the skilled sniper to open her “personal account with the enemy”.
She killed two Romanian soldiers after being given an all-clear to shoot, a moment she describes as “baptism by fire”.
There was no looking back then. With time she honed her skills, often taking on German snipers. A duel lasted for three days, according to HISTORY UK, which she described as “one of the tensest experiences of my life”.
She fell in love on the battlefield but it didn’t end well – her lover reportedly died in her arms. But that didn’t stop her from continuing her duty.
The Germans feared her, even attempted to bribe her. “Lyudmila Pavlichenko, come over to us. We will give you lots of chocolate and make you a German officer,” Pavlichenko once recalled hearing over a loudspeaker, reports HISTORY UK.
Pavlichenko was wounded four times in the battle – a shrapnel that hit her in the face ended her time in combat.
Drumming up support
After the shooter recovered, she started garnering support for the Soviet Union, visiting the United States, Canada, and Britain.
In the US, Pavlichenko became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a US President – Franklin D Roosevelt welcomed her to the White House and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt befriended her.
While she was touring Chicago, the sniper famously hit out at the men in the audience, “Gentlemen. I am 25-years-old and I have killed 309 fascist occupants by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”
After she returned home, she continued training soldiers, and post the conflict, she finished her education and went on to become a historian.
The war continued to haunt her. She died at the age of 58 because of a stroke after suffering from PTSD, depression, and alcoholism.
Her legend, of course, lives on.
With inputs from agencies
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