A FEMALE Ukrainian sniper has told how she uses one of the most powerful rifles ever made to kill and maim Russian troops.

The woman, a single mother with a ten-year-old son, says she has killed dozens of Russian ­soldiers with a Barrett .50 calibre sniper rifle like those used by the SAS and US Navy Seals.

Mirroring Eddie Redmayne’s character in TV’s Day Of The Jackal, she is a crack shot in her army unit.

The sniper, identified only as Chili, said her role was to take out Russian forces so they are no longer a threat to Ukraine.

She also said that she “no longer had inhibitions” about killing Russians, but questioned whether she could ever return to her old life after the war.

The sniper explained that one of the weapons her team uses is the Barrett .50 calibre semi-automatic sniper rifle, which can punch a hole through body armour.

The rifle fires armour-piercing rounds and can also destroy lightly armoured vehicles.

In footage on YouTube, she revealed that when the war started, her two brothers, who she no longer talks to, fled the country while she went to serve on the front line.

Chili said she trained as a sniper in Ukraine and Norway before becoming part of an all-male front- line gun team.

‘Everything and everyone wants to kill you’

She said: “The sniper’s task is to disarm the enemy. It doesn’t matter whether you kill or maim him.

“The main thing is that he is not a threat any more.”

Chili explained that the reality of being a sniper is very different from what people see in the movies, ­especially when her position is attacked by Russian forces.

She said: “I did not sleep the night before the first task.

“I was worried because I did not know how it would be, how it would feel, what was waiting for me.

“It is impossible to prepare ­emotionally for this but in the end it was cool, except that everything and everyone wants to kill you.”

Chili joins an illustrious line of Ukrainian-born snipers.

The most famous was Lyudmila Pavlichenko — history’s most deadly female markswoman, known as “Lady Death” after she reportedly killed 309 Nazis in World War Two.

In 2022, a Ukrainian sniper codenamed “Charcoal” was also hailed a heroine.

A number of Ukrainian troops have had sniper training in Norway since the war broke out.

Surprisingly, I didn’t get scared. When I got to the position, my comrade said, ‘No way – you have balls of steel’. That was the moment I realised I was suited to this job

Sniper ‘Chili’

Chili said of her initial assignment that the enemy opened fire just as she was approaching her sniping ­position.

She said: “We kept moving. The shots came closer and closer and were just 15 metres away.

“Frankly, it was invigorating. ­Surprisingly, I didn’t get scared. I didn’t freeze and went on. When I got to the position, my comrade said, ‘No way — you have balls of steel’.

“That was the moment I realised I was suited to this job. You have to hide from everything — from drones, from infantrymen, from everyone.”

She also said that snipers like her were a priority target for Russian troops and were likely to be ­executed on the spot if captured.

She added: “I’ve prepared myself for this. I know that I can die. I’ve thought about all these moments.”

Chili also admitted that she will find it hard to return to her old life once the conflict ends.

She added: “To be honest, I ­sometimes wonder what I will do when I get back to normal life.

“It seems to me that I will be ­looking for myself for a very long and boring time because, apart from the army, I no longer know what to do.”

The sniper added that the war and her decision to fight has had a significant impact on her family life.

She said: “I have two brothers. They both went abroad while I went to serve in the army.

“I don’t communicate with them now. I don’t care how they live. I know how I am living now and why I am doing it. I have a ten-year-old son. He also knows where I am and what I am doing.

“He is waiting for me at home. I explain the situation, that it is ­necessary, that I must be here. But he is a child. He wants a mother.

“He draws lots and sends me the drawings. On them, the mother is standing with a rifle.

“My son writes, ‘Mum I love you’. It’s nice but it hurts me so much.

“The main reason I came here is so that my son doesn’t end up in the trenches one day. I’d rather do it, so he can live a normal life.

“We must do the maximum we can so that the war ends now and does not continue for years.

“We have to end it now, not later. Not years after but right now.”