Muammar Gaddafi's nurse flees Libya for Ukraine
Galyna Kolotnytska, a Gaddafi confidante, arrived in Kiev on a Ukrainian defence ministry aircraft that evacuated 185 people
Muammar Gaddafi's "voluptuous" nurse and close confidante has fledLibya for her native Ukraine as the Libyan leader's tenuous grip on power weakens by the hour.
Galyna Kolotnytska arrived in Kiev early on Sunday morning on a Ukrainian defence ministry aircraft that evacuated 185 people from the country, Ukraine's Segodnya newspaper reported.
Kolotnytska, 38, was described in US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in December as a "voluptuous blonde", one of Gaddafi's closest confidantes and possibly his lover.
"Libyan protocol staff emphasised to multiple Emboffs [embassy officials] that Gaddafi cannot travel without Kolotnytska, as she alone 'knows his routine'," read the 2009 cable from Gene Cretz, the US ambassador to Libya. He reported rumours that Gaddafi and Kolotnytska, one of four Ukrainian nurses who serve him, might be romantically involved. Cretz was pulled from the country after the document's release.
Kolotnytska was calm before leaving Tripoli according to her daughter Tatyana, who told Segodnya: "She spoke in a calm voice, and asked that we don't worry, that she would be home soon."
Segodnya released a photograph of the nurse, showing a smiling rosy-cheeked woman, her shoulder-length blonde hair held back by sunglasses.
The daughter said her mother had spent nine years in Libya as one of several Ukrainian nurses serving Gaddafi. "For some reason, he doesn't trust Libyan women with that," she said.
The WikiLeaks cable provided further insight into Gaddafi's eccentricities. In addition to revealing Kolotnytska's existence, it discussed his fear of staying on upper floors, dislike of flying over water and love of flamenco.
Several diplomats and high-ranking officials have already split from Gaddafi, whose violent crackdown on protesters has left at least 1,000 dead and prompted thousands more to flee.
Miriam Elder (source:guardian.co.uk)
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