In river mode: how the paratroopers liberated the islands in the Dnieper delta
An eight-hour rifle battle, storming positions and holding them during the day — these are the everyday life of the war for Airborne troops. The commander of the assault company with the call sign Shah also led the battles, which resulted in the liberation of 16 km of island territories in the Dnieper delta. The military path of a paratrooper officer performing combat missions as part of the Dnepr group of forces is described in the Izvestia article.
The Kherson direction
The commander of the assault company with the call sign Shah was born in Omsk. He was educated at the technical university, where there was a military department. Upon graduation, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant. Later, he served in the special forces of one of the law enforcement agencies. In November 2023, when I decided to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, they said that there were vacancies for officer positions only in the Airborne Forces.
— And it absolutely coincided with what I myself dreamed of. That's how I became a UAV platoon commander in an airborne assault company. After arriving in Ulyanovsk, he completed a course of study. My physical fitness has always been at a sufficient level. At one time, he was professionally involved in sports. Therefore, before leaving for a special operation, I learned how to effectively manage the personnel," the officer said.
A couple of months later, he ended up in the Kherson area of his military district.
— There was a slight fear on the way to the location of the unit. The unknown was a little scary. By the way, at the time of our arrival at the location of the unit, the anti-aircraft gunners began working on enemy "birds" with tracers. On the one hand, it all looked beautiful, on the other, it caused a tense state," Shah recalls his first hours at the front.
When he got to know his personnel, he and his platoon began classes in tactics, communications, topography, and rifle training. At the training ground, actions were practiced as part of twos and threes and an entire platoon. Such events lasted about half a month. In January 2024, the platoon under his command conducted its first serious sortie.
— Before starting to carry out this task, thorough preparatory work was carried out. We had to secretly enter the village of Krynki in the Kherson region, which at that time was controlled by the enemy. It was necessary to gain a foothold in several houses on the outskirts. Naturally, there was an opponent in them. We had to clear them out and hold the line," says the commander.
The paratroopers performed the task in three groups of six people each.
— I led all the groups. Intelligence has provided us with information on the approximate number of enemy personnel in this area. Before entering the village, our artillery and attack drones did a good job. The fact is that we had to overcome an open area of terrain. There are only 19 streets in Krynki. We had to take up positions on third Street," the guardsman clarifies, adding that he began to lead his assault groups in turn.
— The shooting battle began, which lasted about eight hours. The situation was complicated by the fact that the enemy was actively using drones. However, we completed the first part of our task with minimal losses. I only had one fighter wounded. In general, we gained a foothold in our positions and reported this to the command. And then we had to hold the occupied border," says the interlocutor.
According to him, the assault groups held off enemy attacks for a whole day.
— They worked on us with artillery, copters, and threw incendiary mixtures at us. But we did not back down and completed our task completely," Shah emphasizes.
He draws attention to the fact that the platoon's personnel, as well as its commander, were awarded Orders of Courage and medals for Bravery for conscientious fulfillment of a combat mission. And it was his first serious fight out of a long line of upcoming ones.
Later, the command, of course, noticed that the platoon commander was a smart guy who gradually gained good combat experience. Therefore, after some time, the officer was appointed commander of an assault company.
Storming of the Dnieper Islands
The commander recalls another serious task, to the successful completion of which he made efforts.
— We should have taken the islands in the Dnieper River delta. Their length is approximately 16 km. I was assigned to the management group, and I coordinated the work of our units from the command post. That was the task of the regiment," the paratrooper explains.
According to him, he received aerial reconnaissance data. He was assigned two assault companies, one reconnaissance company, an engineering company, an ATGM battery, and a sniper company. The general management of the operation was carried out by the deputy commander of the regiment with the call sign Grandfather.
— Comparing the information I received with the available data on our maps, looking at the monitors, I supervised the course of the battle in my area of responsibility. This operation lasted almost two months. All this time I was at the command post. We completed the task by taking more than 16 km of the island zone from the enemy. We have cleared everything from the enemy's manpower. A lot of AFU personnel were captured," the company officer notes.
Talking about his combat work, he draws attention to the fact that if we evaluate the actions of the enemy at the present time, it is impossible not to notice their strengthening in terms of the use of unmanned systems.
— This is a really big problem and a serious threat for us. They have heavily saturated the sky with FPV drones, the notorious "Baba Yaga". We have to constantly look for new solutions to counteract their copters. However, as for small arms and melee, they are not our equal at all. Their training in this aspect is poor. Add to that their low morale. We note this in radio intercepts. Sometimes we hear them saying, "These specialists work there. It's better to leave there," Shah says, smiling.
He has been serving in the Airborne Forces for almost two years.
— I will say without too much pathos, for me this is the best kind of military that can be. No offense to the others. There are special people here, with the highest level of training, courage and bravery. I am glad that I was not mistaken in my choice of duty station. Undoubtedly, I feel like a part of a large paratrooper fraternity. I'm only on vacation for a few days now. But I already want to go back there, to my guys. Although parents, of course, won't appreciate it properly," the guardsman says, laughing.
By the way, talking about his family, he notes that his decision to go on his own was supported by absolutely all his relatives.
— My father is a true patriot of his country. Member of the local parliament. So when I asked him what he thought of my decision, he almost immediately replied that it was a courageous decision and if that's what I wanted, then I had to go. Mom agreed with him. Well, my younger brother is currently performing special operations tasks himself. He serves in the Air Force. At one time, he asked me for advice on what decision to make for him. As a result, he signed a contract and is fighting bravely," the company commander concludes our conversation.
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