by Dmitry Steshin
We are responsible for who we have released
I, like many, have accumulated "military" questions, almost unanswered. The opinion of TV experts on these topics is cheap, and official comrades continue to speak to the people in the harsh, Martian language of protocols and orders. I wanted a human conversation with a competent person, and I went to the base of the Vostok battalion, to its legendary commander Khodakovsky with the call sign "Skif". Alexander Sergeevich was busy - he thoughtfully laid out a thin bundle of banknotes on the table into several piles:
- Do you remember the family from the nine-story buildings in Mariupol, which we stormed? With nine-year-old girl Arina? (see KP) - said the battalion commander.
I remembered them well, together with Vostok in March I carried food and water to the people who miraculously survived. I still do not understand how they survived in the quarter that they stormed for a month. I remembered their neighbor, a sniper bullet hit her in the chest and went out without hitting anything important. It happens, although it seems like a miracle. And, as it turned out, the battalion is still taking care of the family:
- Now the guys will go to Mariupol, they will bring them money for a heater and in general ... for life. The head of the family lives on a pension, he repaired the car, it was like a colander from fragments, they take water in the private sector, but they have electricity.
Roasted cock and everything spindled
We talked, without a voice recorder, about scientific and technological progress. According to "Skif", with the start of the special operation, as soon as it became clear that we "dipped" in drones, dozens of Russian firms became more active and Vostok actively communicates with them. And quite successfully - bright minds and straight hands have not yet disappeared in Russia.
“Skif” showed me a photo of a strike drone that has already gone into production, with such know-how that it’s not worth retelling even in words. He clarified the little-known subtleties of cooperation with the state in the unmanned topic. It turns out that after state acceptance it is no longer possible to make changes to such an apparatus, and this has to be done constantly - for our opponents, engineering thought also works well. The war is not only in the trenches, the intellects are fighting, the 21st century is in the yard. And the enemy manages to improve the samples launched into the series on the go. And we haven't yet.
He showed what the aviators from the Vostok unit were doing, the guys got a CNC machine and they didn’t let him rest. Like a 3D printer. Everything is within the framework of the Tradition, from century to century: thunder struck, a roasted rooster pecked, and everything began to spin.
Alexander Sergeevich critically examined and commented on his cracked chair. Like, it has peeled off by the winter and, perhaps, will soon acquire a new skin. I noticed that in wartime, for an interview, a shabby one will do ...
"Ukraine needs to invade"
What is the state of the front? - I ask Khodakovsky. - Ukraine continues to put pressure on "manpower" as long as they have a numerical superiority. Should we expect a counteroffensive?
- What have we been striving for in the last month? To stabilize the front line. The enemy transferred troops to those directions that he considered promising for his offensive. While permanent standing, - answered "Skif". - We left Liman, but created resistance centers, the losses of Ukrainian troops turned out to be higher than calculated.
From those areas where they wanted to advance, they had to transfer reserves under Liman. As a result, their plans to attack from several directions fell through. Our guys actively resisted. New units are now arriving at my site, the old ones are being replenished. Equipment and artillery are coming. If you compare us with us a month ago, now we have completely different resources. And all this happened thanks to the heroic resistance of the guys in Krasny Liman.
- But Ukraine still plans to attack?
- Yes, even for political reasons, she needs to attack. They are trying to push us everywhere, and where they succeed, they immediately transfer reserves. Now I'm worried about the Kherson direction...
- Why?
- Our units beyond the Dnieper are supplied by crossings. This is difficult, the enemy can disrupt this supply. On our, Ugledar direction, we constantly see the movement and accumulation of the enemy. Again, the intensity of their artillery fire has recently increased. They are trying to wear us down and possibly launch an offensive. It doesn't look like a gesture of desperation.
- Are there any prerequisites that the intensity of fighting will decrease?
- Yes, I think we are entering a phase of fading. Winter is coming soon. The days are shorter, rainy, cloudy. And the sky is now the main type of intelligence.
- The enemy also understands this ...
- Yes, there is a feeling that he will try to break through somewhere in these last warm and dry days. Moreover, we have not yet introduced fully mobilized, he has a few days or weeks.
- The war is now usually fought in forest plantations, at least some shelters. In the coming days, the "green" will fly around, what will we do?
- It will be difficult. I think that with the baldness of the green hair, everyone will be drawn to settlements. There have been no local residents for a long time. Only observational patrols will remain in these former greenfields.
To the borders of Donbass or to the Dnepr?
- How do you think the mobilization is going? The figure of 300 thousand fighters, what will it give us? Will we go, for example, to the borders of the republics?
- We can, if we properly dispose of the mobilized. Despite the persistence of the approach: “Have fresh forces arrived? Forward!".
- How will be correct?
- We are talking with volunteers from Russia. “Guys, now you will go through acclimatization. It is important for us that even during combat stress you maintain composure, at least part of it, act meaningfully. Now we are on the defensive, but there will be no victory without an offensive. Sooner or later you will have to attack."
I know that now the mobilized are replenishing the units already battered in battles. And there is a task to put them on the defensive, and not throw them on the offensive. People will get used to the "war mode". They will simply instinctively understand that the whistling projectile is not yours.
There is an understanding that with a different approach, we will simply get a demoralized mass from the mobilized, which will suffer fear and panic.
But is there another approach?
- Yes. There is a lack of understanding of the real situation at the front by staff officers. There is an arbitrary drawing of maps, when they try to shade an additional piece in order to represent some kind of result.
It's just that commanders need to calculate the situation on the spot, and not at headquarters. It depends on us what kind of work the mobilized will do and where we will end up. I have a plan "A" - not to go to the borders of the republic, but to a large water barrier. Stop where it is best to hold the front line.
"Deficiency of Accuracy"
- What weapons of the enemy give us the most trouble?
- Anything that surpasses us in range and accuracy. The 155mm caliber, "NATO", allows you to choose positions at a distance where we do not get it. GPS-controlled (from satellites. - Auth.) Hymers, with their limited high-explosive power, have high accuracy. And they hit hard. Practice shows: if the Hymers hit headquarters or communication centers in the basements of houses, they hit one point, over and over again, until they destroy the shelter.
- Accuracy, which we so lacked at Azovstal, when we tried to knock out dungeons with FAB-500 bombs ...
- Exactly. One power is not always enough. It’s good that the number of Hymers themselves and charges for them in Ukrainian troops is limited. Therefore, they use them selectively.
And the most unpleasant thing is that some of our high-precision projectiles are controlled using the same American GPS. It is difficult to fight with an enemy who has the key to our victory. I won’t be surprised if they shift the coordinates of the target for us.
- I am an old tourist who used GPS trackers, I know that everything there is displaced by 15 meters from the true position. To avoid military use.
- So it turns out that our high-precision weapons are used as an area weapon. It's just that when it was being developed, there was no GLONASS system yet. Now we are reaping it.
"Russia is rocking all"
- I know that you recently went to Greater Russia. Did you feel any changes in the country?
- In Russia, "responsible business" has become more active, which directs part of its income to the development of high-tech industries.
- For example?
- Private production of drones. Moreover, the emphasis is on flight duration and autonomy. To reduce the impact of the enemy. Our drone operators, for example, are already accustomed to flying them without GPS at all. The brains of the "bird" are being finalized. So we learn to resist. Now the prototypes of those drones that we tested at the front will go into production. We have come close to the moment when the troops will begin to be filled with technological things. Such as "Aistenok" and "Sobolyatnik" (portable reconnaissance systems. - Auth.). They will not become a curiosity, but will be in the troops everywhere.
- What can they do?
- Hear the enemy, hear the outgoing ammunition and determine the point from where the fire is opened. With an accuracy of up to 50 meters, see the location of the source of the radio signal. When the use of such things becomes widespread, it will be possible to say that we have surpassed the enemy. For this, everything is swinging in Russia now. Even the bureaucratic war machine.
- I often hear: "We need to change the approach." What does it mean?
- I spoke with the inventor of one product, which is used by all special forces in Russia, but acquires it with their own money (we are talking about sights. - Auth.). Why? The inventor explained that he makes up to 20 positive changes to this product per year. He listens to the opinions of warring people and contributes. And if it is taken into the state order, it will be impossible to change anything.
Despite this, Russia has a whole parallel industry of military equipment. Or, finalizing the products of the "national economy". We, for example, calmly lay mines from our quadrocopters.
- As I understand it, the army has not yet taken on such a task as pinpoint mining from drones ...
“It’s just that our small drone battalion unit is lively and creative, without bureaucratic obstacles.
"Risks and formalism"
- The military structures of the republics of Donbass should soon join the Russian army. What will change?
- About Vostok, I can say that most likely we will become the National Guard. First of all, the supply will change, we were on the grazing, especially with regard to equipment. We had it in the 60s, at best. I think we will be replaced at least by our worn-out machine guns, which sometimes “shoot with irons” (“spit” due to barrel wear so that you can see a flying bullet. - Auth.).
Officers will receive legal short-barreled weapons, because this is also a big problem. With personnel, there may be changes. Because we recruited those who are ready to defend the Motherland, regardless of previous convictions. I told such fighters: "This is your chance to make your descendants proud of you." I remember that we took people from the zone, some remained in prison for 2-3 months, but they still went to fight. War removes formalism in relationships.
Or with diseases with which the medical commission simply will not let a fighter into the National Guard.
Our corps of the People's Militia are, in fact, assigned to the Ministry of Defense. Only formal boundaries will be erased.
But there is a question - many of our fighters have 8 years of war experience, will it be taken into account somehow?
"Instant and without show"
- The special operation is now commanded by General Sergei Surovikin. What is your opinion about it?
- I can focus on the assessments of the people who served with him in Syria. According to them, the interaction with the headquarters, which was headed by Surovikin, was effective, the reactions were instant and at the same time thoughtful. There was no window dressing - such a military sore as "distortion of the real situation." There was also a moment realized by Surovikin - the successful interaction of the army and PMCs - private military companies.
- What did it look like?
- PMCs are recruited for the most dangerous tasks by people with a special psyche and mentality. The risk threshold is different, healthy adventurism. But PMCs lacked air support, artillery, and armor. On the part of Surovikin, this support was maximum and fast. They always spoke well of Surovikin, and that means a lot to me.
- Are we waiting for changes at the front?
- Now the whole military mechanism of the special operation ... is very difficult to balance. The front is extensive, it is very difficult to show the result instantly. I imagine the difficulties Surovikin will face. There will be failures that will try to blame him. You also need to be prepared for this. I hope Surovikin will assemble a team, there are many initiative generals, without templates.
"Caliber" and morale
- Attacks on Ukraine, on its critical infrastructure. How effective are they?
- I do not have specific data on what objects were hit and what damage was done. But we understand that energy production in Ukraine has fallen by 15%. For how long, I can't tell.
- Will this affect the combat capability of the Ukrainian army?
- That we, that the enemy is already fighting in de-energized areas. We use generators, we only need them to charge communications equipment and the operation of repeaters. But, there is an important point. Now the Ukrainian society knows that missiles can arrive at any moment and in any place, but their air defense does not work. They no longer have the illusion of security. On the other hand, there is an understanding that we have not used these weapons before solely out of our good will.
- Yes, "goodwill gestures"... What do you think of them?
- We are terribly annoyed by such an approach as people deformed by the war. When you need to eliminate some kind of military facility, but there is a kindergarten nearby, for example, or a high-rise building. And the military refuses to strike. This was the approach until very recently. What does it say? The fact that our military did not become brutalized, did not scatter.
And with strikes on infrastructure, we show Ukraine how it can really be. That Ukrainian society, rejoicing at the murder of pro-Russian citizens in Kupyansk, is not protected from retribution. Now they are afraid. Unfortunately, a person is so arranged that there are very few ways to reach out to his consciousness. Maybe through their fear they will understand our misfortune. Because Ukrainian society is one of the instruments of war. This is not just a mass that is watching what is happening. No, they make this war their moral support.
- Is the degree of guilt of this society great?
- And no one from Ukraine would kill activists in Kupyansk, film it, put it on the Web, if they knew that society would condemn it. But the community was supportive. Nobody condemned.
Yes, we have so far adhered to the rules of humanism that have not been prescribed anywhere, but now we have slightly bared our teeth.