Ukraine claims to have captured elite Russian sniper Irina Starikova

Before the February 24 invasion, war in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine was characterised by sniper operations and static front lines

Snipers take part in military exercises at a firing ground in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters

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Ukrainian forces claim to have captured an elite sniper serving with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Irina Starikova had been abandoned by Russian allies after being wounded and had been given medical treatment, according to Ukrainian claims.

Her captors said she had killed “40 Ukrainians including civilians”, fighting in Donbas since 2014.

A Ukrainian soldier fires his rifle from a trench at the front east of Kharkiv in the north of Ukraine, which continues to be shelled by Russian forces. AFP

A gas station on fire in Kharkiv after Russian ttack on the northern city. AFP

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Ukrainian refugees wait in line to cross the border into Poland at Shehyni. Reuters

Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

A resident passes apartment buildings destroyed by Russian attacks in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

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A destroyed Russian tank in the village of Lukianivka near Kyiv. AFP

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A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a destroyed Russian tank in the north-eastern city of Trostianets. AFP

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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged apartment buildings and homes in Mariupol. AP

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A Ukrainian army vehicle carries a Russian tank in Trostyanets. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of a comrade in Odesa. EPA

A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

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A satellite image shows crowds outside a Metro grocery store in Mariupol. Reuters

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Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured people carrier through the town of Trostsyanets, about 400 kilometres east of Kyiv. AP Photo

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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More than half of Kharkiv's 1.4 million people have fled the city since Russia's invasion on February 24. Getty Images

Local residents pass by a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Trostyanets, east of capital Kyiv, Ukraine. The monument to the Second World War is seen in background. AP Photo

A pro-Russian troop service member walks near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

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Halyna Falko, 52, talks to reporters while looking at the destruction caused after a Russian attack inside her house near Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

Curtains flutter in the wind at a building that was damaged by shelling in a neighbourhood that has been largely abandoned and left without water, gas and heating, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

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Ukrainian forces battling separatists have been plagued by snipers since the crisis escalated after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and military intervention in Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region, a part of eastern Ukraine named after the Donets river basin.

An unclassified US military report on the situation in 2016 said "Russia has proven the ability to fix Ukrainian tactical formations by employing sniper teams en masse", slowing and even halting the movement of military units.

A report by the Jamestown Foundation think tank in 2020 said Russia had been supplying upgraded variants of Dragunov guns, Russia’s main infantry sniper rifle, as well as more traditional bolt action versions that are more powerful and have a longer range.

Russia had also been training snipers, the report said, noting that the Ukrainian military was in danger of being outmatched by Russian sniper operations.

In December, Ukraine said Russia had been infiltrating its own snipers into the region to bolster the separatists.

In March, US officials said they had been covertly training Ukrainian forces in sniper and counter-sniper operations, alongside publicly acknowledged military co-operation, since 2015.