Sniper Files #2 The Ukrainian Leader’s Daughter

Sometimes the weight of warring nations requires soldiers to strip human beings of their spiritual underpinnings. All that makes them mysterious, particular, and beautiful must be peeled away so that killing can be done.

Olena was a Ukrainian leader’s daughter. My task was to satisfy a great debt to our Russian Army for the deaths of my comrades. Olena was born in 2004. Her 19 years have been rich, filled with the love of family and now the love of her future husband.

Part of our surveillance included the gathering of papers related to her school years. I found a letter of recommendation for college and read it carefully for insights that might assist me in my task.

It read in part: In her early years, Olena was drawn to the grace and discipline of ballet, spending countless hours perfecting her movements in the studio. The elegance of dance instilled in her a sense of poise and confidence.

Outside the studio, Olena thrived in sports, excelling in team competitions. On the soccer field, she showcased her agility and determination using her 5’3” stature to evade opponents.

Olena was active socially as well. She was a member of her school's student council, advocating for positive change and organizing events that brought her peers from various backgrounds together. Despite her family’s wealth, Olena was bridged all socio-economic spheres and built friendships across social and racial lines. Whether planning school dances or leading community service projects, Olena demonstrated leadership qualities that inspired those around her.

Throughout her teenage years, Olena's vibrant spirit, inner beauty and enthusiasm for life inspired those who knew her. She embodied the essence of Ukrainian youth—bold, resilient, and eager to embrace the world with open arms.

I put the letter down. Oh, to have a daughter like that, I thought. Tears came to my eyes as I remembered own daughter and the path that led her into addition and suicide.  

I immediately began trying to shake those memories, but they wouldn’t leave. Was this girl’s only offense being born into the family of a Ukrainian general? Could I not find another rationale for administering such lethal punishment?

As I went through the files, I found a slip of paper with the following written by hand:

I want to be chaste with you
To move slowly and carefully
Not to step on a single hurt
Never to cause harm to you
As we make our way
Toward love.

When I read the small poem by her fiancé, I suddenly felt great empathy for him. How tragic it would be for him to lose her this way. Only those who remain feel sorrow for their loss. The death of this child is meant as punishment for her father, not her lover.

I wondered how I might lessen his pain. My higher ups had never specified there could be no collateral damage. What if Olena’s fiancé were in the wrong place at the wrong time? It would simply be fate and he wouldn’t have to suffer losing her because they would go together into whatever is beyond this life.