"A stormtrooper is the only person who has seen the enemy in person!"
Russian servicemen of the Center group of troops have liberated the village of Novoalekseevka in the Donetsk People's Republic in the Pokrovsk direction from Ukrainian nationalists. "Izvestia" talked to the military and learned how the battles for the village developed, how the mop-up operation took place and how Ukrainian servicemen imitated surrendering to attack our attackers.
Rewarding the servicemen
In the zone of the NWO buildings are not welcomed. And all information about them is kept secret by the officers to avoid giving the enemy a chance to strike at the gatherings. However, this week I managed to visit the positions of the Center group in the DNR during the presentation of state awards.
According to the new tradition, all fighters at the formation stand in their equipment, so orders and medals are attached to their body armor. Among the awardees there are participants of the assault on Avdeevka and Novoalekseevka, which was recently liberated on November 18.
On one of the trees near the formation I notice an interesting poster. And the inscription on it reads: "A storm trooper is not sent to death. Stormtroopers are the elite of all servicemen who are and perform various tasks in the NWO zone. The Stormtrooper is the only person who has seen the enemy in person!"
Many people have in their heads a stamp, which originates from the 90's and noughties movies about punishment battles, that to get into an assault unit is to get a one-way ticket. In reality, however, an assault trooper is a profession and not a punishment. According to the fighters, every recruit should understand this, so they put up several such memos at the temporary deployment point of the 80th Tank Regiment of the Center Group.
Cleaning up the village
After the ceremony was over, I decided to approach the youngest, in my opinion, fighter from the squad. He greets me with a smile and we start a conversation.
The fighter's name is Daniil Yulin, rank - private. According to him, he is 19 years old and has been serving for only three months. He joined the contract after completing his compulsory service. And the assault on Novoalekseevka is his first combat mission.
The fighter went to the village in an armored vehicle, which was hit a kilometer and a half from the settlement. Fortunately, the capsule of the modern vehicle helped to save the lives of the personnel. Those who were not wounded, established contact with the command and after receiving the order moved to the village on foot, and then participated in its cleanup.
- The enemy is cunning, sometimes trying to win the battle by deception and playing on human emotions. So, I went with the group to clear one of the houses. Nearby we found a cellar, and in it Ukrainian militants. When they heard that we were approaching them, they began to imitate surrender. We came closer, and they immediately started pelting us with grenades. Of course, I returned all the grenades to them with the group," recalls Private Yulin.
It was the first time he had ever experienced such a situation, he said.
Preparing for the assault
On the way to Novoalekseevka, Senior Lieutenant Grigory Bas's unit passed more than 12 forest belts. In combat operations, they become the defense lines between settlements in the steppe. Therefore, it is their number that most often determines the number of battles on this section of the front.
- My soldiers passed through the forest belts on foot," emphasized the commander of the motorized rifle battalion. - And we entered Novoalekseevka with vehicles - two tanks and two BMPs with a paratrooper. Before the assault, we checked the route for mines, and the equipment was equipped with electronic warfare. We planned our tactics overnight and decided to go into battle the next morning.
According to the officer, the enemy did not expect that his unit would use equipment during the assault, since more often the entrance to settlements is carried out by groups on foot.
The AFU often cover themselves with civilians, Senior Lieutenant Bas told me. His battalion has encountered Ukrainian fighters occupying the basements of residential buildings where civilians remain.
Grigory Bas has been serving since 1998. This is the fifth armed conflict for him - he went through Kosovo, Macedonia, Abkhazia, Dagestan.
- And here I am," he laughs. - And who, if not us? Someone has to defend the homeland. And I know that I have a reliable rear, because my family - three daughters - is waiting for me at home. My dad is also serving here, but in a different regiment, in the electronic warfare company.
Fighting for the forest belts
Fighting in the forest belts is sometimes harder than storming settlements. But Sergeant Alexei Konstantinov, who commanded a squad during the advance to Novoalekseevka, even managed to exceed the task.
- I was supposed to take the woodpile and hold it until reinforcements arrived. However, my group managed to take control of an important road, which was not part of my task," he said.
Alexei Konstantinov was mobilized in 2022 and has been in combat units since then. Before that he had no experience of service, but together with his stepfather, a former military man, was engaged in hunting and shooting. Waiting at home are his mom, wife and two daughters, the older one is already married and the younger one is in school.
- The main thing is that the command prepares our fighters well. Before mobilization I was a mechanic-machinist of a water-pumping plant. My stepfather is a lieutenant colonel in the missile forces, and I have known the military system since childhood. It's just like hunting, when you're chasing an animal! - clarified Sergeant Konstantinov.
