Heavy metal: how sappers clear the land of Donbass from dangerous finds
Entire arsenals of defused unexploded ordnance and mines, kilometers of cleared roads are the result of the work of sappers from the engineering company of the 506th regiment of the 27th Division of the Center group of Forces. The supply of our troops advancing in the Red Army direction is carried out along the corridors laid by him. They often work even without metal detectors: in some areas they are useless due to the huge amount of metal in the ground. Then the only hope is for the feelers, your own attentiveness and experience. Izvestia correspondents visited the sappers' area of responsibility on the eve of the Day of the Engineering Troops, which is celebrated on January 21.
How do mine clearance groups work in the DPR
Demining groups with probes and metal detectors are carefully moving through the streets and courtyards of one of the villages of the DPR. In many places, the devices are almost useless: there are too many fragments and construction debris around, and the detectors work almost without interruption. In such cases, you have to rely only on the probes and your own attentiveness. Observers with guns are standing in the distance, protecting the groups from air attacks.
— We have a wide range of tasks, starting from setting groups of mines and minefields and ending with the guidance of crossings on water barriers, mine clearance of the area. We are mainly clearing mines on the roads that serve to supply our troops in the Red Army area," says Senior Lieutenant Egor Sitnik, commander of the engineering and sapper company of the 506th regiment.
Initial engineering reconnaissance is carried out using a quadcopter, and after careful aerial inspection, engineering groups on foot move out to check the terrain. Most of the explosive objects found are destroyed on the spot. The difficulty of this work lies in the fact that the enemy masks his mines well. Unexploded ordnance, which can go off at any moment, is also a threat.
Why do sappers move at a walk
One of the mine clearance teams stops at the found anti-tank mine and reports to the commander. There may be a trap under it, one of those that are set against sappers, so it is decided to destroy it on the spot. This is what they do most often, only in some cases sapper cats are used, with the help of which mines are "pulled out" from their places. The engineer installs an overhead explosive charge and initiates a fire-conducting cord. After making sure that it has ignited, the journalists take off, followed by the sapper himself.
But Senior Lieutenant Sitnik walks calmly to a safe place, without turning around. And a well-known military meme shouts at the back of the person who set the charge that the sappers are just walking. During explosive training, walking is part of the psychological preparation.
— Real sappers do not run away, but walk away from the place of destruction. In college, when studying, if a person runs away, he is not confident in his abilities. And the one who leaves the site of the explosion is confident in his knowledge, capabilities and abilities," the sapper officer comments, smiling broadly. Of course, in combat conditions, when a cord overlap or other surprises are possible, most people run, but with a thorough cleaning of the territory, it is possible to show the level of professional training.
Egor is originally from Tyumen and after school chose admission to the Tyumen Higher Military Engineering Command School. In 2023, he graduated with a red diploma and was assigned to the post of chief of the battalion's engineering service. He was there when the regiment entered the special military operation zone. And in the course of further battles, he became the commander of the regiment's engineering company.
When an overhead charge is triggered on an anti-tank mine, clods of frozen earth scatter for several tens of meters. Everyone goes to make sure that the dangerous item is completely destroyed. The funnel at the blast site is still smoking for a while, and someone jokingly suggests warming your palms, which freeze quickly when working with the tool. The search continues, and at the end of the "shift" the sappers produce another explosion.
After the work is completed, flags are quickly fixed on the shell crates and an award ceremony is held for the Day of the Engineering Troops. One of its participants is Junior Sergeant Alexander Masitsky, a driver in one of the sapper groups.
"Drones make it difficult to move, of course," he says after the award ceremony. — We drive with arrows, electronic warfare equipment and detectors. But first, the sappers go through all the roads on foot, completely clear the mines, and only then do we go and deliver food, water, fuel, and ammunition.
His jeep had just arrived from a combat mission. There is dirt on the wheels, which instantly hardens in the cold. There are gun hooks on the upgraded frame behind the driver's back. They have a short double—barreled shotgun on them, and a clip with 12-caliber cartridges on their body armor. All this subtly resembles scenes from classic westerns, where the coachman rides next to the shooter. Alexander says that recently civilians had to be taken out of liberated settlements under fire. He joined the army upon mobilization and immediately joined the engineering units, where he still serves.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
