Brother after brother: how Akhmat special forces soldiers are resisting the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kharkiv direction

The border of the Belgorod and Kharkiv regions is a high—tension sector. Over the past year and a half, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have made three major breakthrough attempts in this area, none of which have been successful. The 1st battalion of the Akhmat special forces holds one of the sections of the line together with the allies. The situation here remains stably tense — the mutual fire pressure does not stop. According to the fighters, dozens of drones are sent to the territory of the region every day, and their targets are often civilian objects and civilians. A special correspondent from Izvestia visited the unit's location and learned how the dismantling of a British artillery piece was going on, how the underground city was organized, how many siblings served in the unit, and where fighters had to deal with the ubiquitous kamikaze drones.

To the "zero" point

The greenery blooming before our eyes, the rich black soil, the bright sun, the high sky and the tense atmosphere are the components of today's day in the Belgorod border region, where we are heading along with the soldiers of the 1st battalion "Akhmata". To reach the desired point — "zero" — you have to make a detour: a shortcut is now a dangerous path. And squeeze the maximum out of the gearbox — the speedometer needle on our SUV ranges between 120 and 170.

The 1st battalion is the unit from which "Akhmat" began. In 2022, it consisted only of attack aircraft, today it also includes mortars, reconnaissance, and UAV operators. The military path of the old—timers of the detachment is the Svatovo-Kremennaya line, and from 2024 — the Belgorod region. Time has shown that it was necessary to have a dense barrier at the border. Moreover, the probing of the defense by the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not stopped until now. The battalion is commanded by a retired police officer, Vakha.

Deputy Battalion Commander Dmitry Sobol is in the car next to me, and he has a Boar shotgun at hand. And the shooter, Mikhail, call sign Shaman, is a former criminal investigation officer with 18 years of experience, he clutches a Stoeger semi—automatic rifle, the rifle is loaded with cartridges with an increased supply of gunpowder and shot capable of hitting targets at a long range - up to 100 m.

The walkie—talkie does not stop for a minute - it is tuned to the "civilian" channel, where drivers of the surrounding highways, as well as special dispatchers, send information: if a "bird" is seen somewhere, they know everything at once: an important and useful communication solution, which I have not seen in other regions. Gas station stations are tightly covered with nets and surrounded by sandbag barriers. Mobile firing groups with machine guns are on duty at intersections. Fiber-optic cables glisten along the roadsides and burnt-out cars turn black. The closer we get to the ribbon, the more often we interrupt the conversation, listening intently and peering at the sky.

Into the open doors of the Pyaterochka

The shaman is an experienced marksman. Since the beginning of the year, he has shot down about 10 drones on these very roads. A native of the Rostov region, he became friends with weapons in his school years, hunted quails and partridges with his father. Now we have to catch completely different "birds" in the sights.

"In the 1990s, I moved to the north, to Norilsk, and worked in the criminal investigation department," the military man says about himself. — After that, he worked at the mine as an explosives expert. I went to Chechnya as a sapper. Then I returned to my homeland, tired of the cold weather. In 2022, with the start of mobilization, I was waiting for an agenda. I didn't wait and went to the military enlistment office myself. They informed me there: "You are on our special account. In case of an emergency, you will be responsible for notification." But I can shoot any kind of weapon, I know mine-blasting, and with my skills I definitely can't sit in the rear! In 2023, he signed an indefinite contract with Akhmat.

One of the Shaman's tasks is to neutralize explosive objects that fall from the sky like precipitation. The other day, he took four converted RPG shots from the roof of the dugout. Before that, charge for AGS. An 82-millimeter mine was removed from a border village, which fell at a substation, but did not detonate. And in another village, an unprecedented incident occurred.: There, a drone with a grenade flew into the open doors of the store, caught the screw on the counter and did not explode. Mikhail arrived at the scene and witnessed a new deadly UAV heading towards the store. The shaman shot him down with a shotgun on approach.

They transmit "eyes"

We get there without incident. While we're hiding the car, we hear the engine above us.

"Calm down, this is Geranium," the fighters say.

On the spot, we are met by Alkhuzur, the senior South officer, call sign Vysota, the former head of one of the departments of the Federal Bailiff Service for Chechnya. He wears a picturesque panama hat and a vest under his jacket. A funny man and a buffoon, he nevertheless, according to Dmitry Sobol, keeps his wards in his fist — there is iron discipline in the disposition.

Many people who know Heights go to him.

"It seems to be a good thing,— Alkhuzur throws up his hands, laughing. — And on the other hand, don't quit! I feel responsible for these rascals," he points to the guys in combat gear.

— Do they keep you in suspense? — I nod in the direction of the "ribbon", referring to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

— Don't you understand?! — Alkhuzur reacts. - We keep them in suspense.

An entire underground city, dozens of meters of corridors and structures, has been dug at the zero point near the Height. Protection — logs in three rolls, bags. There are grids of all colors on the surface.

The main threat is drones, and their number is constantly growing. 40-50 UAVs fly over the commander's area of responsibility per day, the record is 75. They do less at night, but they do more damage in the dark, and you can't just shoot them down. During our conversation over the internal radio, observers from the front line ("eyes") repeatedly report new drones of various types crossing the "ribbon". At one point, machine guns begin to chatter in the distance and a burst is heard — either the drone has made an attack, or it has been shot down by bullets.

Our pilots don't doze off either. Among the targets hit in recent weeks are several enemy self—propelled guns, including the British AS-90 and the Polish 155-millimeter Krab. By the way, this process is not easy.: first, you need to find a carefully camouflaged firing position, then "open" it — to get to the gun itself and, finally, disable it. Everything about everything takes at least 20 FPV.

Both senior and junior

The squad is a full international. Volodya, a 26-year-old signalman, call sign Karo, for example, is the son of a gypsy baron. He checks and establishes communication between positions, and goes to dangerous exits two or three times a week. His comrade, 31—year-old platoon leader Danya, also has Gypsy roots, and he is responsible for the rotation: he accompanies the guys at every drop, plus delivers ammunition, groceries, and medicine. The optimal time for soldiers to be at the point is 7-10 days, Danil explains, if longer, the person ceases to feel danger. But the "dirty" sky, alas, dictates its own deadlines, recently the guys had to sit on the front line for 50 days.

The senior of one of the positions is Iris Khan from Grozny. He is 27 years old, the call sign is Kind. He serves with his younger brother Ali Khan, call sign Bystry. He's currently recovering, but he plans to return soon. It is noteworthy that the youngest was the first to go to his military base in 2022, and he was seriously injured. Then Iris Khan took his place. Soon, having recovered, Ali Khan returned to the squad.

The other two brothers in the unit are Pavel, 29, and Igor, 27. They come from a large family from Rostov-on-Don. In their case, the younger one was also the first to take the initiative. Two months later, Pavel joined him.

"I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to him," he comments.

And he adds that his older brother, Dmitry, is preparing to join them. They are waiting from day to day.

It's really too early to retire, I conclude. He doesn't seem to be going to. Someone needs to keep a tight grip on the team. And accept new recruits.