Yulia Tolopa | |
|---|---|
 Tolopa interviewed by Voice of America in 2021 | |
| Native name | Юлия Толопа |
| Nickname(s) | Valkyrie |
| Born | 1995 (age 28–29) Podkumok, Stavropol Krai, Russia |
| Allegiance | Ukraine |
| Service | |
| Years of service | 2014–2019 |
| Unit | |
| Known for | Russian female volunteer fighting for Ukraine |
| Children | 1 |
Yulia Tolopa (call sign "Valkyrie"), (Russian: Юлия Толопа, "Валькирия"; Ukrainian: Юлія Толопа, "Валькірія"; born 1995) is a Russian-born female volunteer who fought for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Tolopa grew up as a Russian nationalist and Cossack and at the age of eighteen became a Russian Federation champion of hand to hand combat. She went to Kyiv to see the 2014 Ukrainian revolution firsthand. Joining the Ukrainian volunteer Aidar Battalion, she fought against some of her former friends. Her family and Russian media declared her a traitor, and the Russian government threatened her with imprisonment. After a year she left the military to give birth to a daughter. Afterward, she returned to fighting, first with the Donbas Battalion, then with the 16th battalion of the 58th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukraine regular army, when women were officially allowed to take part in combat. Ukrainian bureaucracy for years delayed giving her Ukrainian nationality and made her fear deportation back to Russia. Tolopa finally received Ukrainian nationality in 2021.