Olena Bilozerska

Prior to her military service, Bilozerska was a poet and a journalist.[1] 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.[2]

Bilozerska saved money for two years to buy her rifle,[1] and she was taught to shoot by her husband in anticipation of military conflict with Russia.[3] She began her military career as a volunteer sniper,[3] serving in the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps from 2014 to 2015.[4] She was first stationed in Dnipro, Ukraine, shortly after the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War in April 2014.[5]

Bilozerska was involved in the movement to allow women to formally enlist in the Ukrainian military, which was legalized in 2016.[1][3] She served in the Ukrainian Volunteer Army from 2016 to 2017. She formally joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as an officer in 2018,[4] and she served as the commander of an artillery platoon for two years in Donetsk.[3]

Bilozerska was featured in the 2017 Ukrainian documentary Invisible Battalion, bringing national attention to female soldiers.[1][3] She published her account of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Diary of an Illegal Soldier, in 2020.[6] Bilozerska's reputation has made her a common target of Russian web brigades,[3] and the Russian government has falsely announced her death on multiple occasions.[4]

Order for Courage 3d class.[7]