Vladimir Putin has honoured his first female colonel to have died in the war after she was brutally killed in a car explosion in Ukraine.
Olga ‘Kursa’ Kachura, 52, has been labelled with the prestigious status of "Hero of Russia" which is the Kremlin's highest award.
She died instantly after the vehicle she was travelling in was blown up by a missile, according to reports.
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Margarita Simonyan, the head of the sanctioned RT network, paid tribute to the "hero" in a post and wrote: “Legendary Korsa died in Horlivka… May she rest in peace…”
Putin said he had awarded her “for courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty”.
She was a colonel in the forces of the Russian puppet state Donetsk People’s Republic, where she commanded a rocket artillery division deployed against Ukraine.
Russian state propagandist Simonyan added: “The Chief [Putin] awarded Korsa the title of Hero of Russia.
“That's how it's supposed to be. These are our common heroes.”
More Ukrainian strikes hit the Drama Theatre in Donetsk early today where the funeral was being held, part of a series of attacks that caused several fatalities, said reports.
Videos showed the damage which led to a postponement of the farewell ceremony, which was held later.
Simonyan claimed that a hotel where the RT film crew were based had been hit.
“By some miracle no one was seriously injured,” she said.
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Kachura was a career police investigator rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel before switching to the forces of Putin-backed separatists.
She served in the 3rd separate motorised rifle brigade Berkut of the 1st Army Corps of the DPR, and commanded a Grad MLRS division in Horlivka.
There were 140 gunners under her command.
The mother of two had been wounded several times in previous attacks.
She had held the rank of colonel in the DPR forces since 2015.
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Last year Ukraine sentenced her to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property for “participation in a terrorist group or terrorist organisation”.
She was head of the powerlifting federation of Horlivka, and an honorary citizen of the city, which was twinned with Barnsley in England.
Mayor of Horlivka Ivan Prikhodko said: “A brave and wise woman who was there from the start of the People's Militia of the DPR has tragically died.
“Olga Kachura, victorious and unshakable Korsa.”
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