While the crew of the 586th Regiment underwent training for Yak-1 fighters at Engels Military Aviation School in Saratov, Kazarinova studied at a flight institute in Grozny where she sustained a severe leg injury during an air raid that left her with a limp and unable to fly.

To sweep some of the issues under the rug, she sent eight members of the regiment to Stalingrad, where five of the eight sent out would be killed in action, two of whom went on to become credited as the only female flying aces in history before their deaths - Lydia Litvak and Yekaterina Budanova.

Eventually in November 1942 Kazarinova was removed from her post by General Mikhail Gromadin after her actions led to the death of Valeria Khomyakova, who had died in a plane crash after she was assigned to the night watch even though she was exhausted and had fallen asleep in the dugout only to be awoken by her commander who sent her out for a night flight, resulting in Khomyakova crashing since her eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark with the lack of lighting in the airfield.

The new commander appointed to the 586th Regiment was Aleksandr Gridnev, a pilot recently released from NKVD custody for refusing to fly an escort flight for Beria in poor weather.

In 1943 Kazarinova achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed assistant to the director of the 4th Department of the Central Administration of the Air Defense Agency of the Customs Union.