Qaddafi's Nurse Departs Before The Qäddaferdämmerung

The British press is all abuzz tonight with the news that Galyna Kolotnytska, the Ukrainian nurse who has been closely associated with Qaddafi for nine years, has chosen to leave Tripoli before the operatic climax of the old regime.

In other words, she won't be the Clara Petacci to his Mussolini. If Qaddafi ends up hanging upside down in a public square, he'll have to do it without his female companion. Wise choice.

Galyna Kolotnytska, one of four Ukrainian nurses said to dote on the dictator and by all accounts his favourite, returned to her native Ukraine in the early hours of Sunday morning on a plane that evacuated 122 Ukrainians.

Her daughter Tatyana, who lives just outside the Ukrainian capital Kiev, had previously said she was expecting her mother in the near future after talking to her on the phone last Friday.

"She spoke in a calm voice, asked us not to worry, and said she would be home soon," the daughter, a student, told a local newspaper.

A leaked US diplomatic cable last November described the 38-year-old divorced nurse, as a "voluptuous blonde" who traveled with Col Gaddafi everywhere.

"Gaddafi relies heavily on his long-time Ukrainian nurse, Galyna Kolotnytska, who has been described as a 'voluptuous blonde'," the cable said.

The British press uses the phrase "voluptuous blonde" a lot, doesn't it? By the way, I've seen the pictures, and I don't think either adjective is accurate.

There's more here, from The Guardian, and here, from The UK Sun.