According to local media accounts, a woman who renounced her Russian citizenship to fight for Ukraine was slain on the front lines.
Olga Simonova, a 34-year-old soldier who served with the 24th Mechanized Brigade in support of Ukraine, passed away on Tuesday in the southern Kherson district, according to a local news source, TSN.
Simonova, who goes by the nickname “Simba,” is from the Chelyabinsk region. Infuriated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 decision to annexe Crimea, Simonova left Russia and purchased a one-way ticket to Ukraine.
Severinova moved to Kiev. Soon after, she started working as a paramedic in a volunteer Ukrainian military unit.
She obtained Ukrainian citizenship while serving in the army, making her the first foreign contractor in the armed forces.
In the 24th Mechanized Brigade, Simonova later attained the rank of sergeant and took command of an infantry combat vehicle.
Simonova spent time defending Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region when Putin announced what he calls a “special military operation” there. Later, her regiment was sent to the south, where a ferocious Ukrainian counteroffensive is now going on.
Her death was first reported by TSN correspondent Natalia Nagornaya, who said Simonova was “adored by journalists.”
“Today, even those who usually restrain themselves are crying,” she wrote in a post on Facebook. “She came and fought for freedom. I wouldn’t dare to call her Russian.”
