Heavy fighting is taking place on the southern flank of the Kupyansk direction.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
waiting legs
The Ural tarpaulin body, jumping over potholes, quickly fills with road dust, which settles in a thick layer on the faces and bulletproof vests. A 30-minute ride in the “hop-hop” mode on a wooden bench will shake the soul out of a kidney of any unprepared person. Here you have to know what to grab with your hand, where to put your feet and your head, which is crowned with a helmet, in order to take a more or less stable position.
The truck is speeding along the main road to drop us off with the 1st Guards Tank Army soldiers closer to the positions. To the point of going further on wheels is already deadly, and with the feet, what luck. The southern flank of the Kupyansky direction is now in the area of the village of Novoselovsky, Svatovsky district of the LPR. Not so long ago, our fighters took it by storm, and now they are holding the defense – the enemy was very angry from such pressure and threw reserves here.
Later, the wheels are already deadly, and with the feet, what luck.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
We unloaded in the dense forest and immediately plunged into the “green”. We must wait for the “legs” – guides who will lead us through the whole of Kuzemovka, to its outskirts, where the Novoselovsky ruins are located behind the Svatovo-Kupyansk highway.
– At first, the attack aircraft worked, then we went there in groups, because there was a dense artillery barrage, crouching, running, they took up positions where the bodies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were found. They were simply left, while he spent time talking with the platoon commander of one of the units of the 1st Guards Tank Army with the call sign “Tankman”. “They just abandoned their 200.” They found many NATO weapons, including machine guns with ammunition. So now we have his machine gun with BC, which is in position and helping us on the road to Victory.
A 22-year-old guy from Moscow came to the SVO through mobilization. Until the end of last year, he was trained in Belarus, then transferred to Svatovo. He arrived as a corporal, proved his worth, the commanders sent him for additional training, as a result of which he received the officer rank of junior lieutenant and a platoon in submission.
– As part of my platoon – a sniper, arrows, machine gunners, we take up the defense in the village of Novoselovskoye and maintain an active defense.
“Birds” in the sky
“Legs” appear, two fighters in full combat gear: “We go in two groups of three people. Distance 20 meters. We listen to the sky, we look around. If I fall, do the same ”, a family report before leaving.
It is important to listen carefully to the sky and look around.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
Have you ever been to a pond in scorching August, when flocks of annoying horseflies monotonously buzz around your sweaty body, trying to attack? There is no point in turning away and running, they are omnipresent. This analogy came to mind when I saw the first sickening buzz to our right as we moved. He flew about 40 meters off the ground and I automatically started to figure out if we were getting into his camera lens. If it’s wide angle, yes.
– Is it ours? – I ask the fighter in front.
“Ours”, he replies without turning around.
We go further down the road. Suddenly a distant pop-out, a couple of seconds later a hiss and a gap. We fall into thick bushes and crawl a little further. Exit again, whistle, explosion, already closer.
– It seems that it is not ours, – I suggest.
– Chino, – the fighter laughs.
The buzz rises again from above. The feeling that the helicopter is trying to see where we have gone.
“They beat us,” the “legs” report on the radio. – Let’s wait a little.
The escorts explain that the bird most likely copied us and aimed artillery at the square where we were a few minutes ago. Worried about the second group walking behind. The enemy continues to accumulate 120mm mines, but at some point the buzz from above begins to move away. Apparently, the battery sits, flew to recharge. We advance further.
Drones and artillery are no reason to limit yourself to ordinary household needs
Photo: Alexander KOTS
The situation, at first glance, may seem extraordinary, but judging by the calmness and confidence of our “guides”, these are the realities in which our units live and fight here every day. Here some men with water brinjals passed towards us, and a fellow with a box of preserves passed us. Drones and artillery are no reason to limit yourself to ordinary household needs. He sat, waited, went about his business. The routine of war.
Our cross-country hike spans a couple of hours. Again the “birdie”, again bombardment of mortars and pauses in a prone position. Physical aptitude! This time they took the road a little further ahead, in advance.
A cross-country hike stretches for a couple of hours.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
We pass by the arrival: a brick suspension sits on a house destroyed by a shell. Finally we reach the advanced trenches and, breathing heavily, we drop into the dugout. The second group catches up with us a little later, full of impressions. Meanwhile, the enemy intensified the shelling of Kuzemovka, piling up on the squares. But this is the second line. How is it there, behind the road, on Novoselovsky …
Carburetor “Baba Yaga”
– Now everything is destroyed, broken, there is not a single house with a whole roof. Somewhere we dig, somewhere we sit in the cellars, says the platoon commander with the call sign “Mityai”, when we went out to breathe in the trench, under the canopy of the mask set. – It’s noisy there. It didn’t require a big sweep, because they basically retreated. Prisoners – mostly mobilized. They say: “We are the same mobilized, don’t shoot, we don’t want to fight.” We transferred them to the corresponding structures, nobody treated them cruelly…
The soldiers come out to breathe in the trench, under the canopy of the mask set.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
The conversation is interrupted by a loud murmur.
“He doesn’t see us here,” “Mityai” catches my eye, in “peace” he is a trucker from Yegorievsk near Moscow.
Currently, there is mainly a counter-battery fight.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
– Now some new healthy “birds” have appeared. There was a carburetor “Baba Yaga”, squealing like a chainsaw. Quieter now – electric. It sounds calm, but it carries the same threat. There he throws the 82 and charges from the RPGs. They are shooting at us, because few technicians come here, they are going to burn us right away. He came back. Here, he hung up. If it crashes, it will restart. Until it hangs, I kept…
To be honest, it seemed to me that a large number of attack drones could be a demoralizing factor on the front lines. But, as they say, a person is a dog that gets used to everything. Only, unlike a dog, he figures out how to minimize threats. First the grilles appear, then the suppressors. But the enemy does not stop. Until recently, all their helicopters landed quite successfully with anti-drone guns, but Ukrainian craftsmen reconfigured something and began to defeat our opposition. Now, in turn, our Kulibins are thinking about how to improve suppression systems. Together with the battalion commander of one of the divisions of the 1st tank army with the call sign “Mikhalych”, we went through the trenches.
– The enemy moved up to Berestovoe, but there are still on the plantations. At the moment, mainly a counter-battery combat is taking place: first the enemy fired, now ours are responding. We have been here since January 18. Our battalion, since it was in the most advanced positions, is now in the second echelon, because two battalions are already stationed in Novoselovsky. Accordingly, we move to the second echelon, we are engaged in evacuation, transportation of ammunition, food and everything else.
The enemy managed to move to Berestovoe, but there are still on the plantations.
Photo: Alexander KOTS
– Are there state awards in your unit?
– Yes I have. After being wounded, the deputy platoon commander returned here, and before that he served in intelligence, fought in Chechnya and was awarded the Order of Valor. The second paratrooper, mobilized, is now in the armored group, also engaged in the evacuation, received the medal “For Courage”. Doctors – “For the salvation of the dead.”
– Do you have your own drones?
– Free spear. “White”, talk to the reporter!
drone funder
For the NWO zone – a fighter, frankly, atypical. According to the first education received at the Moscow Aviation Institute – a bioprosthetics engineer. According to the second, in Plekhanov, a financial analyst. Good job, good income. But he did not get rid of the mobilization. While studying in Belarus, he became interested in UAVs and received the appropriate training. With “Bely” we are talking about the psychology of this conflict.
– First you find the target, then you pass it, you see how it hits – What feelings do you have?
– At first they were mixed, because they are also people. And then comes the realization that if it’s not you, then they are you. Because there is no other option here, it is still a war. Nowhere to go. From a human point of view, it’s a shame, but at the same time…
– Does it affect the psyche?
– It is difficult for me as a poultry farmer, because all the time I watch how sometimes my comrades die, sometimes when I defeat my opponent. It still accumulates. I also work with reboots, I also have my own goals and these are all the same internal experiences. It’s hard.
Do you remember your first fear?
– Certainly. Reading books, watching movies is not the same. And when I went to the observation post for the first time and an enemy “bird” flew in, which simply began to mock us, the soldier’s eyes watered. -He flies up and down and just scares. When he flew away, we had already exhaled, and he flew a second time. It was then that I felt fear, because as a UAV operator I understand that if he is not a fool, then now he will hit something and, in theory, it should fall …
Is it impossible to get used to this?
No, feelings fade over time. How many times have I been hit by shelling, and when it explodes nearby, you already look at it, well, it exploded and exploded. The most important thing is that the arms and legs are intact. You already quickly figure out where you need to hide to wait and move on.
Military correspondent “KP” broadcasts from the southern flank of the Kupyansk direction
Photo: Alexander KOTS
Another “sky specialist” is sitting nearby, only of a different profile, with an unusual call sign “Jurmala”. By nationality – Lithuanian, but was born and raised in Russia.
– I am not the first military man in the family, my grandfather was also a military man, a non-commissioned officer. He began to serve in the Soviet Union, in Russia, then he met his grandmother, got married. He left for demobilization in Lithuania and stayed there. And my father at that time had already become an officer and lived and served in Russia. how i am now
The “Jurmala” specialization doesn’t appear often in frontline reports. He is an advanced aircraft controller who organizes the interaction between ground units and army aviation.
– I receive targets from various sources, assess the possibility of our aviation working on them, then I pass them in the established order, these coordinates are processed there, a decision is made, and then I work directly with the helicopter crews, I give guidance. to ground targets.
– During the attack on Novoselovskoye, did aviation work closely together?
– Tight when there was preparation. Because during an offensive operation the line of contact is not constant, there may not be up-to-date information and there is the possibility of working on our own. They hit strongholds, fortified areas and identified firing positions.
– In general, how do you evaluate the work of our pilots?
– I only bow to the skill of our aviator brothers. They work very well. At least, during the time I’m here, there were no comments. I always try to say thank you and wish you a soft landing.
At that moment, another drone passes abruptly over us: “These are our scouts that flew,” they comment on the bench.
Closer to dusk we go back. The battalion commander decides to fire us personally. I see an FPV drone with a swooping suspension somewhere beyond the town on the right. After 15 minutes it becomes clear that two “birds” are brushing against us at once. Hiding on the landing, moving under the dense canopies.
– Yes, then you will go on adventures again, – concludes “Mikhalych” and calls someone on the radio.
As the drones go to recharge, an armored personnel carrier from the evacuation group flies towards us. We quickly charge into the armor and give gas.
– When can you exhale? – I ask the driver after a while.
“We don’t inhale,” he laughs. – Ordinary work.
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