Kirill Ogurtsov told what he experienced in three months
Partial mobilization caused a storm of emotions among purely civilian people. Those who didn't think they would ever pick up a gun ended up in the war zone. How can such a person survive where even a professional army has a hard time? What prospects do the mobilized fighters have to defeat the enemy who has been fighting in the Donbass for eight years and is even trained, equipped and armed to the teeth with the NATO military machine? who signed up as a volunteer after the mobilization was announced and took part in the fighting on the Svatovský direction.
Photo: From personal archive
“This operation cannot be compared with either the Chechen or the Syrian military campaigns. Our enemy has a similar mentality, common history and culture. Our generals and generals of the armed forces of Ukraine studied in the same military institutions. But the armed forces of Ukraine have been fighting in Donbass for 8 years, and we have been fighting for only 11 months. Moreover, the Ukrainians did not set themselves the task of winning at any cost all these years, they just trained and gained combat experience.
Not some separate military units, but the entire army participated in hostilities. In addition, they had a short front line, a weak opponent in the person of the militia, that is, the training took place in the most comfortable conditions. It was therefore naive to believe that we could immediately defeat an opponent trained in this way in a few months.
– Where the zone of the armed forces of Ukraine used to be, the loyalty of the population can be estimated at 50 to 50. They lived under the Ukrainians for eight years, they were brainwashed, so they don't greet us with flowers, but they also don't throw stones. After the retreat of our troops from the Kharkiv region and Kherson, people are once again afraid to publicly declare their sympathy for Russia.
“By the way, there are a lot of volunteers among those mobilized, I'm not the only one. For example, in a unit of 34 people, we had 12 volunteers. When it comes to the mobilized contingent, it is difficult to bring everyone to a common denominator. People came across very diverse – both in terms of social level and age. The guys are around 30 to 40. We had a farmer who raised pigs, there was a computer scientist, an entrepreneur, someone worked in a car repair shop, and only one guy said he worked in a factory and got a summons when he came to change his clothes.
< p>– Just not. The volunteers I managed to communicate with are people who have taken place and are mobile, that is, they went to the NWO knowing that everything is fine at home, their families will not need anything. They even looked different. Everything is “packaged”: branded uniforms, expensive shoes for 30 thousand, bulletproof vest, own helmet, non-statutory, active headphones …
I remember there was an incident during an exercise at the training ground in the Belgorod region where we had to overcome an obstacle course and crawl through the mud for an hour. We then stand in formation and my friend says “Kiril, you look like a level 80 warrior and I look like a bum.” Because he was wearing a command-issued jacket and pants, and I bought all the uniforms myself in Moscow.
Photo: Personal archive
After that, the guys approached me with questions, where did you buy it, how much does it cost and so on. Proper clothing for a soldier is no small thing, it must have many layers and all of them must be followed properly. Take at least thermal underwear: it should absorb sweat, but not retain it.
– Yes, that's why the first 200 thousand that came to our card while we were still in training helped the guys to get dressed and put on shoes. Many people have said this: once I get the governor, I will immediately run for equipment.
– In the place of temporary deployment, which was located far back, it was different. 70 percent behaved more or less normally, drank but at least knew when to stop, and 30% abused alcohol. But it was only during the time of temporary deployment, and then of course not in all parts. I probably had to face the worst example of the behavior of the mobilized. I have many friends in all areas of the NWO and none of them have ever talked about it.
– They called the military police, took the drunks away, conducted a preventive meeting, then released them. Unfortunately, this is a problem for junior officers, because most of them are self-mobilized, they have no experience in managing soldiers.
– There is no more alcohol, and if anyone tries to drink, then only fools. But they are quickly brought up there, because there is already a zone of responsibility of combat commanders who will not prowl with violators of discipline, and the situation itself does not allow to relax.
— Yes, I know one such story. They first trained the guys for reconnaissance, and then suddenly sent them “to ground zero”, as an infantry soldier. They put a grenade launcher into the war, a mortar that they never fired. Of course, the commander they arrived at was not happy about such help: he was waiting for specialists, and they gave him completely unprepared fighters.
The comrades in arms who were in this unit also behaved in the best way: instead of encouraging them, teaching them how to behave in combat conditions, they began to intimidate them. They said that the Polish biathletes were working on their positions, that their trenches were being attacked by foreign mercenaries who got out of armored vehicles naked to the waist and shouted: “Russians, kaput!” … The guys had heard enough of these horrors and fled back at night. What became of them afterwards I do not know; I heard they were disarmed and sent to the rear.
Question: who is to blame in this situation? In my opinion, not only these fighters are to blame. It seems to me that it is impossible to send unreleased, untrained mobilized people to hell itself, and there, in this sector, just such a situation has arisen.
— Fortunately, I gradually got used to shelling. We first came under cluster bomb fire back in the Belgorod area – only two tapes were fired at us, but out of habit it seemed like the end of the world had come. The second time we came under fire not far from the demarcation line. We spent two days in the cellar, but that was not critical either. And for the third time on Novoselovka, heavy artillery hit our positions – that was hard!
With my wife before I was sent to the front. Photo: From personal archive
— Yes. By the way, I should note that the evacuation of the wounded and the provision of medical assistance are well organized. A few hours later I was at the hospital. Our doctors are top notch.
– To be honest, I was very upset that I would not be able to return to duty immediately and would have to rehab at home. And I'm not the only one: all the mobilized ones I spoke to in the hospital wanted to go back to the front, but the contract soldiers, strangely, on the contrary, dreamed of leaving home as soon as possible. as possible.
There were 6 of us in the department and we were constantly talking about all sorts of personal topics. Who and why went to war – some really decided to defend their homeland, and some just to earn dough. Among many contract soldiers, I noticed a special position: many of them have served in the army for 5-6 years, but they believe that all the problems on the front are the responsibility of the leadership, and they themselves are white and fluffy.
– If you see a problem, a mess around you, you can at least write a report to the commander. When I arrived at the regiment, there were no drones at all and no one knew how to handle them. But I managed to convince the commander that it was a necessary thing in reconnaissance, in battle, and he agreed with me. Friends helped with the purchase of equipment, we organized our own troop of drone operators, and they are already coming to learn from other regiments.
“It all depends on where you are. In some places, mobile communication does not catch on at all – then only via the Internet. The guys built the antennas, connected the router and communicated with relatives. This is possible even a kilometer from the positions. And if the mobile connection catches, then you can buy a local SIM card, insert it into a regular push-button phone and make calls. But it should be remembered that Luhansk mobile operators work through Ukrainian towers, so it will not be difficult for enemies to listen to any conversation – you need to understand what is possible and what should not be broadcast.
— Your life is in your hands, don't wait for the commander to come and fix everything, you see something wrong – fix it, you see that the fighter next to you is violating safety rules – take action.
– First explain that you can't to do, I don't understand – put a stock in my teeth.
– Become a leader yourself. We were brought under one city and left in the forest. No tents, nothing. The commander went to find where we could camp for the night. And I asked the guys who want to live with me, the group got together, we assigned responsibilities. Some went looking for a tent, others filed wooden posts. After some time, the commander returned and we already have a roof over our heads. When boys take matters into their own hands, they show leadership qualities and become good commanders.
– Yes, but it is a very difficult test for the psyche, especially when the Grads are working. A person is so equipped that he wants to hide in a building during shelling, even though it is much more dangerous. Walls don't protect you like a moat, but you feel safer under a roof. And in the trench you are under the open sky, in addition to cold, mud, water, a wild roar overhead – the mobilized must gradually get used to that and not throw their heads into the pool like kittens.
“Unfortunately, luck also depends. You will get to an intelligent commander – he will teach you everything. Bad luck with the commander – then find an experienced fighter yourself and torture him about everything. For example, the company commander came to us – he told us what intelligence is, how it works, he gave all the orders. We learned to place fighters in positions, we were told who would be next to whom in battle. This is what I call battle alignment.
war zone. Photo: From personal archive
“I was very lucky to have my partner. He was the deputy company commander, he knew I was mobilized, so he tried to protect me from all dangers. He taught me all the time where to attack and where not to attack. He ordered: “Sit here, lie down here, here is a mine…” In one day of working with him in a pair, I gained more knowledge than in the entire training period at the training ground.
< p>— I am convinced that Russian men are born to be warriors. I've seen guys who didn't know which way to lift the machine. But in two days of fighting, they learned everything immediately. For example, we had a guy in our unit – after the first shelling, his hands and legs were shaking. He came to me and almost crying asked: “Kiril, what should I do, I'm so afraid that I'm just shaking inside…”
– Two days later, he got on the MTLB armored personnel carrier and drove the guys “for zero”, like a real driver. In addition, the commander said that he does it better than experienced fighters, because his fear turns into professionalism. He carefully studied the map of the minefields, found out where you could come under fire, and began to bypass all such dangerous places.
— You must communicate as much as possible with those who already have combat experience. . As soon as you see an experienced fighter – a contract soldier, a combat officer – do not be shy, immediately come and ask: how not to step on a mine, what is “exit” and what is “input”, what sound does a 152 mm bullet make, what 82 millimeter? That's how we learned everything – by communicating with discharged soldiers.
And I also believe that everything is decided by the luck of the soldier. Next to me, literally five meters away, shells landed twice, but the shells did not explode. Well, what can I say? Fate!
— We had tanks, half dismantled, on which the guys were trained. There were also artillerymen, but to be honest: 80% of them were later transferred to infantry.
– Imagine you have a company of mobilized people who have “gunner” written on their registration card. They spent two months in a temporary location, but the commander does not have the equipment to train them. Now the question is: what good are they as gunners? None. That is why they are transferred to the infantry, because there is always a shortage of people.
— Yes. I personally know two completely different regimental commanders. One has an ideal hierarchy, strict discipline and strong ties with neighbors. All the locals help him, he has excellent trenches and dugouts, there are stoves everywhere, an excellent kitchen.
– And it is done. And there is another regimental commander who is having none of it. Both regiments are in positions next to each other. The enemy will not pass one, and where the other regiment stands they will pass easily. And so it happens. In the same Balakliya, the Veseushniks found a weak spot in our positions and broke through the front line. And when there is a breakthrough, everyone backs down – the strong and the weak.
– Turns out it is. Of course vertical, generals, military strategy and so on are very important. But if there is not a strong horizontal, strong connection between neighboring units and different branches of the military, it will be very difficult for us to win. And this connection can only be provided by ordinary officers and soldiers on the ground. I know of a case where an infantry commander coordinated the artillery in his sector through messages in a well-known messenger. He gave the artillery crew the azimuth, the distance to the enemy target, and they corrected the fire based on these reports. And it worked well for them, and this contact was not established by the generals, but by the starleys and majors themselves.
After being injured in the hospital. Photo: From the personal archive
— In modern warfare, a mobile phone is indispensable. For example, how can you control a drone without a mobile phone or tablet? Of course, when we went behind enemy lines, for reconnaissance, we didn't take our phones with us, or take out the SIM card and put them on airplane mode. But if you're sitting in a ditch, you can use your phone.
Everyone already knows where our positions are. On the contrary, if they see that a lot of phones are exposed in such and such a place, they will be afraid to attack there, and the artillery will see us even without phones and hit the position.
I believe that mobile communication can be used in war, but you have to do it wisely. As for Makiivka, I know the location of this unfortunate school well – there are many houses where people live around it. Of course, everyone saw that there was a large number of mobilized people, and most likely some agents passed this information to the Ukrainians.
— Of course, we are quickly learning how to fight effectively and with the help of the most modern technical means. Remember how many debates there were at the beginning of the NMD about the use of drones: whether they are needed, unnecessary … And now even in my unit there is a reconnaissance company that uses drones, there is a laboratory where they can be repaired or upgraded. By the way, our commander wants to legally approve the status of such a unit.
— Well, how else? This is my ward, I'll be back there as soon as the doctor allows.