"The army is commanded by me and the sergeant!"
The enemy, trying to hold back our fighters, is changing its tactics - it is increasingly relying on unmanned aerial vehicles for defense. It is important to prepare our soldiers for this. "Izvestia" saw how the attackers of the mountain unit of the "Center" group are trained, found out why to improve psychological stability and why the battle in confined spaces has its own rules.
How they train to fight in confined spaces
Shots can already be heard at the entrance to the firing range. From the car window, you can see simulated buildings where fighters are practicing exercises under the guidance of instructors.
Before the NWO, such tasks were more common in police and anti-terrorist units or army scouts. Instructors and experienced fighters joke among themselves that the exercises being practiced today are more like training for SOBR units than for infantry.
Coming closer, one can see how, alternating between firing a machine gun and throwing grenades, servicemen one by one pass the "kill-house". This is the name of such mock-ups. All actions are as close as possible to the combat situation.
For example, Senior Lieutenant Stefan Sazonov, commander of the assault company of the Center group's mountain unit and one of the leaders of the training, runs alongside the trainees. On the way he gives him instructions and fires at some shelters, imitating the actions of the second number in the assault.
AFU tactics in defense in 2024
- In modern realities, the most difficult thing is to reach the line of contact. Teaching your subordinates to shoot and talk about battle tactics is not so difficult. But to teach how to reach the target when going under FPV drones is hard. You have to tell and show that moment. When you move with them, they move forward," the senior lieutenant said.
One of the most important changes of the last year is the change of tactics of the enemy in defense.
AFU soldier
Previously, the AFU used a large number of cluster shells. That is, after successfully storming their positions, they would deliver massive strikes on Russian fighters trying to entrench themselves with cluster shells at pre-shot coordinates. It was the entrenchment after a successful assault that often became a problem. In the current conditions, the bigger problem is getting to the attack line.
- I tell the soldiers that movement is life. Now we have started three-day outings at the training range, using drones for training. We fly over the soldiers, approach them as a target, so that they understand how to dodge and where to jump back. It's the same with drone drops," said Stefan Sazonov.
Who the fighters of the North Caucasus Defense Forces look up to
The officer himself has been in the NWO zone for three years now and has repeatedly encountered enemy drones. But, fortunately, he has never been injured, he said, thanks to his reaction speed. Prior to the NWO, the senior lieutenant served in reconnaissance units and at a military base in Tajikistan. After a four-year break from military service, he volunteered at the beginning of the NWO.
Thanks to his extensive combat experience, the senior lieutenant also knows how to act in direct contact combat. After all, the enemy can sometimes demonstrate resilience, which must be taken into account when preparing assault actions. It is not uncommon for commanders to leave Ukrainian fighters to defend doomed positions, promising them future evacuation or rotation, or threatening them in case they surrender.
- In modern conditions, company or platoon actions in an assault are usually irrelevant. It is generally better to move one at a time. Even in a twosome you should not move, but one by one and passability is better and survivability is greater, - explains Stefan Sazonov.
Today, based on the experience of assault battles, the training system is changing. Much more attention is paid to individual skills, psychological stability, close combat in confined spaces. Everyone's skills and determination determine success on the battlefield, as experienced instructors explain.
- The army is commanded by me and the sergeant! - reminds Senior Lieutenant Sazonov of a phrase attributed to Marshal Zhukov, one of those whom he calls a model in military service. Today, when most of the battles are fought in small groups, according to our interlocutor, this thought is more relevant than ever.
As a company commander, Stephan Sazonov calls Major Alexei Efentiev, the hero of the first Chechen campaign, who became known under the call sign Gyurza, commander of the "mad" company (a reconnaissance company of the 166th OMSBr) a model for himself.
