A Russian female sniper with "the blood of at least 40 people on her hands" has been captured after being wounded and left for dead by her fellow soldiers.
It has been confirmed that Irina Starikova, who is reportedly from Serbia, was seized by Ukraine's armed forces after they released photos of the notorious sniper.
Local media reports that the divorced mother of two, Valeria (11) and Yulia (9), is responsible for "killing 40 Ukrainians including civilians" but had been given medical treatment for her injuries when she was captured.
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She said her fellow soldiers had left her "knowing that I was injured and had the opportunity to pick me up, they simply decided to leave me there, hoping that I would die", according to reports.
Starikova has served in the separatist forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine since 2014, according to the Peacemaker centre, which researches crimes committed by Russian separatists.
Her fate is now unknown as a spokesperson for the Kyiv military said: "anyone who kills peaceful people on our land can expect retribution."
The Ukrainians are said to have been hunting Starikova for years after her alleged involvement in a war crime in which several prisoners were shot.
The capture of the sniper was also confirmed by Giorgi Revishvili, a researcher at the Department of War Studies at King's College London.
He tweeted: "Ukrainian forces captures infamous sniper fighting on the side of ORDLO, call sign Bagira [a name given to breakaway Russian speaking regions] killing 40 Ukrainians including civilians".
According to the Peacemaker centre, Starikova was awarded the George Cross medal for her work in the military.
Her husband is also believed to be a soldier from Belarus called Aleksandr Ogrenich.
According to a 2017 report from the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, he goes by the call sign Gorynych and fights for the Russian separatist's armed forces.
While some claims suggest that Starikova was a former professional handball player named Daniela Lazovic, others report she was once a nun who became a drug trafficker before converting to Islam.
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