Ukrainian Ballerina Joins War Against Russia

A ballerina with the National Opera of Ukraine has joined the front line with her AK-47, Ukraine’s defense ministry has announced.

Olesia Vorotnyk (30) has been dancing professionally since 2009. She was a child gymnast before starting ballet lessons at 10. She studied at the Kyiv Choreographic College and then joined the dance troupe of the National Opera, The Economist reports.

“When Russian large-scale invasion began Olesia Vorotnyk, a ballerina with the National Opera of Ukraine, joined the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF),” Ukraine’s defense ministry confirmed on July 6.

Her husband was killed three years ago in the rumbling conflict in Ukraine’s east that followed after Russian-backed insurgency in 2014.

In the last week of June, Brazilian fashion model-turned-sniper Talita do Valle died fighting Russia in Ukraine.