Fiery grandmother joins Ukrainian army

She's the sort of grandmother you wouldn't want to mess with.

Nicknamed the 'The Punisher', Ekaterina Bilyik, 68, is the latest addition to Ukraine's resistance against violent rebels - and she means business.

A grandmother of five, Mrs Bilyik has volunteered to join Ukrainian forces in the fierce fighting against pro-Russian insurgents in the east.

Don't be fooled, her age is no detriment to her physical ability.

She can shoot just as well as her much-younger colleagues and takes part in the same gruelling training drills as the young men in her troop.

A training video, released by the army's camp, shows the spunky gran rolling and crawling through snow-laden fields and firing assault rifles from multiple angles.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian army told the Daily Mail that Ms Bilyik had passed every military test, setting a tough precedent for fellow recruits, who were on average 40 years younger than her.

With her training complete and an aim as accurate as the rest, Ms Bilyik is well-prepared for front line combat.

Her fellow cadets have labelled her 'The Punisher' for her defiant fighting talk.

"We need to give them the message that Ukraine is a free country, and if they don't like it, they can go back to Russia," she said.

Mrs Bilyik, from Zhidaev, signed up in the wake of violent clashes between Russian-backed separatists and pro-Ukraine fighters.

"I have lived here all my life and we survived the Nazi occupation and the Soviets, and I believe in standing up for what's right and making sure we never see occupation again," she said.