Scout “Fox” shows a captured machine gun from “Azovstal”
Photo: Dmitri STESHIN
“TIGHTEN THE NUTS”
A real storm began on the Internet and Telegram channels – rumors appeared that they were going to “tighten the screws” in the special operations zone. They will start with the ban on civilian cars in the army, then they will confiscate smartphones and tablets, and finally they will start shaving their beards. A wave of indignation arose with such force that he even acted. DPR chief Denis Pushilin made a statement saying that he personally requested the commander’s office, but they have not yet received any orders.
But the rumors became more and more concrete, there were already people who “personally saw” the orders to put civilian vehicles in the military registry, with black numbers. I confess, I joined the wave of “anger of the people.” The following was not clear to me. At the forefront is a real shortage of transportation. My sniper friends have a 7 km approach to the positions. The same amount back, and, as a rule, with the occurrence and expectation of shelling. And the boys carry a three-meter rifle, ammunition, water, food, a weather station, binoculars, rangefinders, thermal imaging cameras… All in armor and helmet. I went with them, I know how the tongue hangs on my shoulder. In the summer, the snipers contributed and bought themselves a Zhiguli. And what, now the Motherland will ride on it and they will walk again? It’s just that people at war have real fears that they will no longer see the cars they bought or accepted from volunteers if they take them to the balance of the unit.
Next up is the ban on smartphones at the forefront. Excuse me, but how to use, for example, quadrocopters without them?
Hazing beards against this background looked a second time. You can survive beards.
I wrote an angry post about this in a telegram and immediately received a reply from the reconnaissance officer of the Vostok battalion with the call sign Lis:
“Hello Dima! There you made a wave about beards, phones, cars and generals who press “poor soldiers” according to the letter. Dim, you are wrong. I can put everything on the shelves. Reasonably and without frills. And so it turns out that only one side is the right one, the one that comes to life. Tomorrow I will still be in Donetsk, then I will leave for the front.”
“MAKHNOVSKY” IN ZHIGULI
I met Lis during the assault on Azovstal. I know how his reconnaissance unit fought, I know how he planned impeccably precise operations and always participated in them himself. I know that he is a scout with a specialized education, he received it even before the war, in Kyiv, he saw Iraq and Afghanistan, but from the first days of the “Russian spring” he was on our side. His opinion is valuable. We sat down in one of the Donetsk cafes for a liter of coffee with milk. I offered:
Let’s start with the cars. I gave an example with snipers in my “righteous rage post”.
Fox agreed.
Let’s start with a concrete example. PVD – Temporary deployment point in the frontline town. There is a company, conditionally 100 people. Every soldier wants to go to the store, to the familiar young lady, and everyone, I emphasize, does not want to leave the “comfort zone.” How much does “Zhiguli” cost now? What about the salary?
– About 100 thousand for an old car, but still alive, and the salary is less than 150 thousand or more.
– Well, they bought thirty Zhiguli. And where to put now the standard equipment and how to mask it, if now there is a “parking lot in the supermarket” in front of the PVD? The second point is discipline. PVD is not a base where there is a barrier and a control. Therefore, the soldier at any time gets into his car and goes where he sees fit. The sale of alcohol is prohibited in the village, but this does not scare the soldier now…
Fox sighs heavily. I sigh too.
– And how are the columns doing now because of these cars? – wonders “Fox”. -Sometimes the column stands because the tattered Zhiguli has broken, but the soldier cannot leave it, because he bought it for himself. Do you understand what a standing column means and how it can end? And one more important point. Guys, you represent the Russian army, don’t behave like a herd of Makhnovists! The ban on personal vehicles in the war zone is also insurance against looting.
The last word “Zorro” is pronounced with pressure and syllable by syllable.
– Well, what about the trucks and jeeps that the volunteers buy for the units?
– They are delivered to a certain person, so that in case of loss it can be removed from the rooms. And the man puts it under his butt-“Mine! They sent me!” As a result, these vans do not serve, but travel. There is no transport in your sniper unit, but there are a lot of cars. There is only one way out – staging in numbers of the black army, legalization.
The former owner hung on the machine everything he could buy online and the machine began to weigh 6 kilos. How to fight with him, “Fox” does not understand. But he is beautiful.
Photo: Dmitri STESHIN
STYLE “HOUSE FROM THE HEATING PIPE”
Does a wrestler have a beard?
– Mine – decorates, – the “Fox” tells me.
He always wears a neatly trimmed goatee. Always, that under Ugledar, that under Mariupol. “Zorro” develops the idea of him:
– I’m in my officer ID with a beard, any questions? I think it comes down to the overall appearance. There are characters: she lived in the main heating, mobilized. Waist-length beard, braids and rings, like a Viking. Just wash, there will be no questions for you! I’ll go up to the trench tomorrow. The forecast is for positive temperatures. Can you imagine how I will look in an hour? But I’ll change after the trench! “Fox” talks about two extremes on the front line:
– The first is the “homeless” style, the second is “creative”. It’s okay, no one in the trench will tell you anything. But, if you are walking around the city in a “sling” with the “Bob Marley Squad” patch… – Fox remarks sarcastically. – I saw, in Volnovakha, how the Military Police react to such people. For the first time, he simply makes a comment. If you don’t understand, I’m sorry!
– Was the wrestler in hazing uniform?
– No, there is no such thing. We have half the army in the authorized “pixel”, half in the authorized “multicam”. Someone wears moss camo, so am I. The authorities are in a position, because a good batch and you are without pants. For Mariupol, I put down three pairs of good shoes and I’m done with factory work boots.
PHONE nailed to wood
We end the conversation with the main thing – an alleged upcoming ban on smartphones and tablets on the front line. In my practice, there was a story that the Armed Forces of Ukraine tracked seven Moscow numbers at once. And covered. As a result, 400 meters we “set off” for almost an hour, crawl and lie down. Sometimes they ran. The militias accompanying us sincerely did not understand what was happening, and we ourselves were to blame!
And there was an older, nastier case. In 2018, I was at the defensive base near Kominternovo, where the Ukrainian DRG (sabotage and reconnaissance group) eliminated the previous lineup of fighters – I listened to hour-long music on headphones. Here we listen…
– Reports – officially started “Fox”. – There is a legend that when you press the button with an airplane on your phone (activate airplane mode), you hid in a house. September near Ugledar, I advance from our positions towards the enemy, but the headquarters calls me and says: “Halt team!”. They say: “Where you are going now, thirty phones are ringing.” Consequently, our phones are also visible, that’s what you want to turn off. The modern phone is primarily a tracking device. The only option is a phone that has had the battery removed.
– Okay, but what about the control of quadrocopters? With cards?
– No one outright bans the devices, but they should be in the hands of certain people, used for warfare, not entertainment. Here I am, an officer, I come to the trenches in a rotation and see that a soldier is watching a series there …
– With headphones!
– Of course, the war continues, its sounds interfere. Of course, I keep this phone. But, I have a phone in the positions, the maps and programs that I need are loaded there. One fighter has a phone, which has a small helicopter for reconnaissance. Everybody. For a fighter who plays toys, if he doesn’t understand Russian from the tenth time, this phone will be nailed to a tree.
TRICK QUESTION
How to shave on the front line
I answer. No one on the front lines shaves. Before that, and there are no conditions: clean water, as a rule, is brought on itself. That’s why they save. They shave after the rotation (in one to three days) and return to the Temporary Deployment Point. As a rule, this is a village hut, some kind of building, an equipped dugout city, where there is electricity and water. And there – with what to shave – with a razor or a typewriter – as you like.
