Following the departure of Gadaffi's private jet pilot, Odd Birger Johansen, who quietly left the country two days ago, the latest to flee the sinking ship is none other than the dictator's favorite Ukrainian nurse Galyna Kolotnytska, who has taken her leave from Tripoli permanently. The approximately 38 year old nurse was first exposed in WikiLeaks cables which Zero Hedge referenced previously here. The fact that Galyna was so close to the dictator and was a potential "love interest" apparently in no way increased her resolve to pull an Eva Braun and join Gaddafi when he finally realizes the end is nigh. And while Gaddafi will be able to do without sponge baths for a day or two, it may prove to replace the pilot of a jet already supposedly loaded up with gold and ready to go, on such short notice.

The WSJ on the latest desertion:

Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is set to be deserted by another close ally after his Ukrainian nurse said she was heading home.



Galyna Kolotnytska, described in a diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks as a "voluptuous blond" who "travel[s] everywhere" with Col. Gadhafi, called her family in Kiev on Friday to say she intends to return to Ukraine, her daughter told daily Segodnya.



"Mom got in touch yesterday. She said she was now in Tripoli," Tetyana Kolotnytska said. "She spoke in a calm voice, asked us not to worry and said she'd soon be home."



According to the cable from September 2009, contacts in Tripoli told U.S. diplomats that Col. Gadhafi "relies heavily" on Ms. Kolotnytska, then 38, as "she alone 'knows his routine.'"



The cable also reported claims from unnamed sources that the eccentric Libyan leader and the nurse, part of a retinue of four Ukrainians, "have a romantic relationship."



Ms. Kolotnytska's daughter said her mother had been in Libya for nine years, originally employed in a hospital before starting work for Col. Gadhafi.



"Other Ukrainian women also work for him as nurses. Mom is one of them," she said. "For some reason, he doesn't trust Libyan women with this matter."

And on the prompt fleeing of Gaddafi's private pilot to Austria:

57-year-old Odd Birger Johansen for the last year has been the pilot of the private jet of Colonel Gaddafi. Until yesterday, he was in Tripoli, together with his wife and daughter that had chosen this unhappy moment to visit him for a holiday in Libya.



Yesterday, he spoke to the private Norwegian broadcaster 'TV2', saying he wanted to evacuate Libya as soon as possible. "Right now, the way I feel it, is that things are burning around me ... and I don't want to ... I am not a hero, I will go home," Mr Johansen told the broadcaster.



The interview was picked up by international media, including afrol News, causing even greater fears for the Norwegian family.



The pilot's wife, Kristin Haftorn Johansen, today told the Norwegian daily 'VG' that she feared Libyan security police could want to pick up the family after the world press reported over her husband's desire to desert the Libyan dictator.



Johansen had originally emphasised he was "under contract, so I have to follow up on that if there should be a need for my services." But his wife soon convinced him that the international media coverage forced them to flee the country as soon as possible.



Today, the family managed to buy the last available tickets for a flight from Tripoli to Vienna, Austria. Arriving safely in Europe, the Johansen family again dared to contact Norwegian media.

A photo of the nurse who we expect will grace the cover of Playboy within 3-6 months: