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MOSCOW—As Libya’s popular uprising closes in on Moammar Gadhafi, he has been abandoned by top military officers, diplomats and even entire military bases, which have flipped to the opposition.
Now he may have lost someone even more important: his Ukrainian nurse.
According to leaked American diplomatic cables, Gadhafi has rarely gone without the companionship of his personal nurse. The cables hinted at something more than a medical relationship with the woman, described by the State Department as a “voluptuous blonde.”
A Ukrainian newspaper reported on Sunday that the nurse, Galyna Kolotnytskaya, was on an evacuation flight home over the weekend.
Gadhafi’s women
Kolotnytskaya’s relationship to the 68-year-old leader remains unclear, though she was certainly among the inner circle of female figures whom Gadhafi at times trusted more than men. He also often traveled with a posse of female bodyguards.
The report in the newspaper Segodnya, based on an interview with Kolotnytskaya’s daughter, could not be independently confirmed.
The report raised but did not answer lingering questions about Kolotnytskaya’s role in the leadership structure in Tripoli. It noted speculation in Ukraine on whether she had a romantic relationship with Gadhafi, who is married to two other women, one of whom is also a nurse, and what influence she might have had with him.
The American diplomatic memorandums released by the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks said Kolotnytskaya was constantly by Gadhafi’s side when he visited New York in 2009 for a UN General Assembly meeting.
The cables, though, also described Gadhafi as a hypochondriac, lending support to those who argue that her primary duties were medical.
In the interview, Kolotnytskaya’s daughter, Tetiana, played down any special relationship between her mother and Gadhafi. She said her mother went to Libya nine years ago, initially to work in a hospital in Tripoli, and that she was later on Gadhafi’s personal nursing staff.
“Other Ukrainian women are also working as his nurses,” she said. “Mom is one of them. For some reason, he does not trust these matters to the Libyans.” New York Times News Service
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Now he may have lost someone even more important: his Ukrainian nurse.
According to leaked American diplomatic cables, Gadhafi has rarely gone without the companionship of his personal nurse. The cables hinted at something more than a medical relationship with the woman, described by the State Department as a “voluptuous blonde.”
A Ukrainian newspaper reported on Sunday that the nurse, Galyna Kolotnytskaya, was on an evacuation flight home over the weekend.
Gadhafi’s women
Kolotnytskaya’s relationship to the 68-year-old leader remains unclear, though she was certainly among the inner circle of female figures whom Gadhafi at times trusted more than men. He also often traveled with a posse of female bodyguards.
The report in the newspaper Segodnya, based on an interview with Kolotnytskaya’s daughter, could not be independently confirmed.
The report raised but did not answer lingering questions about Kolotnytskaya’s role in the leadership structure in Tripoli. It noted speculation in Ukraine on whether she had a romantic relationship with Gadhafi, who is married to two other women, one of whom is also a nurse, and what influence she might have had with him.
The American diplomatic memorandums released by the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks said Kolotnytskaya was constantly by Gadhafi’s side when he visited New York in 2009 for a UN General Assembly meeting.
The cables, though, also described Gadhafi as a hypochondriac, lending support to those who argue that her primary duties were medical.
In the interview, Kolotnytskaya’s daughter, Tetiana, played down any special relationship between her mother and Gadhafi. She said her mother went to Libya nine years ago, initially to work in a hospital in Tripoli, and that she was later on Gadhafi’s personal nursing staff.
“Other Ukrainian women are also working as his nurses,” she said. “Mom is one of them. For some reason, he does not trust these matters to the Libyans.” New York Times News Service
link: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]