Скачать или смотреть Female Snipers Fighting and Training in Ukraine

Sultan, a 24-year-old woman with blonde hair and enhanced lips, is one of three female markswomen selected by their country's special forces for advanced sniper training in the forests of western Ukraine. She has chosen the name "Sultan" because she loves Turkish soap operas. As she unzips an American Barrett sniper rifle from its carry bag, she refers to it as "the love of my life" and positions it for firing. An instructor gives her instructions to shoot three targets located 186 meters away, telling her to "shoot to kill." Sultan lies down, flips her ponytail behind her head, and fires the gun. The bullets land close to the target, and she seems unsurprised. She states that in order to be a successful sniper, one must be able to kill without hesitation or remorse, and she claims to have no qualms about doing so. Sultan and her colleagues, Phoenix and Oksana, have already proven themselves as volunteer soldiers in territorial defense units, but the demands of the Ukrainian front lines, where males dominate the profession, will be much more challenging. The forest training is the first step in preparing them for this.

The snipers' training sessions have been designed and led by a commanding officer known only by the alias "Deputy," who initially had doubts about training women for the profession but now believes they are more suited to it than men. In addition to shooting practice, the sessions include lessons on tactics, ballistics, and movement. Under normal circumstances, the training would take a year and a half, but in Ukraine, where the cycles of life and death run faster, the women will be deployed within a few weeks to the northern border with Belarus, where Russian forces may be preparing or threatening another attack on Kyiv. Deputy cites several reasons for his belief in the suitability of women for the role of sniper, including their light and nimble bodies, ability to retreat quietly, and tendency to be more patient and take fewer unnecessary risks. He was also impressed by the results of a grueling military survival test called "Fizo," in which only three out of 90 candidates - including two men - were able to successfully complete it. While Ukrainian women are not currently subject to conscription, an initiative to draft women in critical professions was postponed due to public opposition and is currently on hold. Despite this, the Ukrainian armed forces have been steadily increasing their proportion of female personnel.

Anna Malyar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, reports that there are at least 30,000 women serving in the army, comprising about 20% of the official pre-mobilized number. The majority of these women serve in non-combat roles, but a growing number, estimated at around 5,000, are performing front-line roles, including as snipers. The female trainees have encountered resistance and disbelief from men who do not think women are suited for the sniper profession.