Posted on 04/08/2015 4:24:18 PM PDT by Ivan Mazepa
First part of the interview found here
(translated from Russian by I.M.)
War in Ukraine
- How many of you crossed the border?
- There are 31 tanks in the battalion. We crossed company at a time. Ten tanks in each company. For every 10 tanks there were three BMPs added, armored medical carrier and five "Ural" trucks with ammunition. That's the size of the company tactical task force. Tank battalion is made of about 120 people - three tank companies, support platoon, communications platoon. Plus infantry, of course. Approximately 300 people have crossed. All from Ulan-Ude (Russian city in Siberia). Basically, most of them - buryats. Locals looked at us, they said - you guys are desperate. But, we Buddhists, believe in the following: the Almighty, the three calamities and the rebirth. If you die, you’ll be sure to be born again.
- When you were there, have they explained that you are closing the Debaltsevo cauldron?
- No, they did not explain anything: here’s the position, here’s the position to fire on, observe this, no one is to get out. Anyone coming out, shoot them on the spot, shoot to kill.
- Did your commanders come with you?
- All our commanders are great guys. There wasn’t a single commander who got frightened or became afraid of something. We were all equal, regardless, whether you're a colonel or a private. Because we are fighting side by side. My battalion commander ... He is now in Rostov, got burned in the tank, just like I did...my commander, a colonel. Sometime on the 12-14th of February, one of those days. We had to clear one village. I do not remember the name of it... we captured the village...it was all good. We were playing the “carousel”. This is a tactical method of shooting from the tank. Three or four tanks get into the line to open fire, shoot, and when they run out of ammo, they are replaced by another three or four tanks, and they reload. And so we were switching.
But my commander had bad luck. While executing the carousel, when you shoot a tank ... Tank is very capricious machine, sometimes there’s a hang fire. You think that it fired, but he did not shoot a damn thing. The tank just doesn’t shoot, doesn’t shoot and that’s it. The first tank fired - bang, then the second one, but the third one – a delay. But Ukrainians are shooting at them. That's it. The commander jumped into his tank, he destroyed one tank, but another tank destroyed him.
The gunner of my commander’s tank, Chip, he also got burned. The driver... the drivers have it good. You sit in the tank and have armor this thick, huge armor ... you're completely protected from everything. It’s much easier for drivers to survive. In the case of being hit in the turret, the gunner and commander usually burn, but not the driver. If he’s sharp - there is a button on the tank for emergency turret rotation. It turns the other way and you calmly get out. My driver got out like that, so did the driver of my commander.
I look at my driver – he’s unharmed. I look on my commander ... Spartacus - he lies there in the hallway. But he’s not as badly burned as I am. He opened his door immediately while I had it closed... I’m a gunner. A private. A tank takes long time to burn.
- Has anyone been killed?
- No. There’s Minakov who had his leg blown off in the tank. The entire foot was severed. And on the right foot he lost a toe, also blown off. Commander was burned, gunner Chip, Spartacus... that’s what I remember.
- Did you fight alongside the rebels? Did you have common objectives?
- No. They just ... They take a position and when it’s necessary to go advance further and press the enemy, they refuse to go. They say: we will not go there, it’s dangerous. But we have the order to advance further. If you want to, you will not order them. Well, we advanced further. But don’t worry, we've almost closed the cauldron.
- Cauldron is no more. Everyone who was in the cauldron, either fled or was destroyed. Debaltsevo is now DNR.
- Good. Mission completed.
- It seems, you helped in the preparation of the cauldron?
- Yes, everybody was brought into the cauldron, we surrounded it completely and observed and observed. They tried to get out - groups of infantry, on Ural trucks, and BMPs and on tanks, and what have you. We have been ordered shoot to kill immediately. We shoot them. They break out of the cauldron, want to make way, want to run away, but they have to be pushed further.
They make night incursions; as soon as it darkens, there’s immediately movement. You look, here and there, there’s a man in the tank, people are going there, and you open fire. Fire with no regret, there’s enough ammunition. Main ammunition is in the tank. There are 22 rounds on autoloader and another 22 inside the tank. Total tank ammunition, 44 rounds. Second load of ammo on the Ural truck that we had brought. My tank was very good. Not just 72 but 72B. What makes 72B different is the 1K13 scope. It’s for night shooting, night observation, for shots with guided missiles. I had 9 guided missiles. HEAT, fragmentation as well. The main thing is, they showed me how to use it. Now, it’s hard to miss. All sorts of fortifications, shelters – everything was destroyed easily. Suppose, the reconnaissance reports that behind the building controlled by enemy infantry, there’s one BMP (Soviet/Russian APC) and two Ural trucks... We only had two tanks – my and my platoon commander’s. So we went out – one, then the other. And we always hit on target. It was such a good tank. Now it’s burned.
- Did you kill any civilians?
- No. With civilian cars we waited till the last moment. When we were convinced that it’s the Ukrainians, we opened fire. But there was one case when the pickup was driving and I was told – "Shoot, shoot." "In a moment, in a moment" – I say. What am I to fear? I'm in a tank. Waited until the last instant, peering through the scope. I look - the guy has a white patch, a separatist. I thought, if I had fired, I would’ve hit one of ours. Same story with an APC that was on the road. Separatists don’t tell us how they travel. I shout: "We’re friendlies!" Was scared to kill our own.
- So you don’t coordinate with them at all?
- No. Separatists – they’re strange. They shoot and shoot, then stop. It’s like their shift is over. No organization, command, it’s all over the place.
- What was the name of that settlement?
- I don’t know what it was. All villages are same. Everywhere is devastation, everything is bombed.
- How many villages you have passed?
- Can’t tell exactly. (I’d say) four villages. One village we cleared and others we just moved into... (He’s silent). I'm certainly not proud of it, what I did, that I destroyed and killed. Of course, it’s nothing to be proud of. But, on the other hand, I’m at ease with the fact that it's all for the sake of peace, for the civilians that I saw - children, the elderly, women, men. I'm not proud of it, of course. That I fired, hit the target...
(Long silence)
It’s scary. You’re afraid. Subconsciously, you still realize that there is a human being, like you, in the same tank. An infantry, or in any other vehicle. He’s still ... the same human being. Of flesh and blood. On the other hand, you know that it’s your enemy. He killed innocent people. Civilians. Killed children. As the bastard is sitting there, shaking, praying not to be killed. Beginning to ask for forgiveness. May God be your judge.
We took some prisoners. And everyone wants to live, if you are forced to face it. It’s the same human being. He has a mother. (Long silence). Each person has his own destiny. It might be sad. But no one was forcing them (to fight). With conscripts – it’s another matter. 2 or 3000 out of 8000 of these (Ukrainian soldiers) were conscripts. They were forced to fight. I also wondered what I'd do. What would you do on the spot boy of an 18 year old conscript? I think, I would have gone. He’s ordered to go. If you do not kill, they say, we’ll kill you and your family, if you won’t serve. One of their boys tells: "Well, what was I to do, I had to go serve." I say, "Were there those among you who killed civilians?" "There were," – he says. "And you”, - I say – “have you killed?" "Yes," – he says. (Silent). Those mercenaries, who are from Poland or Chechens, who are motivated purely by the idea, who can not sit quietly without war, those must be destroyed.
- Have you seen mercenaries from Poland?
- No, but we were told that they are there.
- Did you talk with local civilians?
- No. Many civilians came to us by themselves. We didn’t try to speak with them too much. The command told us: not to engage. When we were in Makeyevka, they even told us that 70 percent of the civilian population there are for Ukrainians, "so you stay on the alert, guys." We entered Makeyevka, hid in the park, covered tanks with camouflage - and literally within an hour, there was mortar fire on us. Everyone started digging, moving. Well, I climbed into the tank – what do I care. Tank has nothing to fear from a mortar. Splinters (It's nothing) ...they say, even if Strela, the 4 meter long missile from Grad, hits you, the tank will be alright. Better shelter than a tank cannot be found. We lived in a tank, slept sitting. It was cold, but alright, we slept nonetheless.
- And were you alarmed about Makeyevka? That 70 percent of locals are for Ukraine, what if it’s true?
- Alarmed, of course. You’re mentally preparing for a plot from all around. What if he... They brought us food to eat. Be it tea, or something else. We took it, but did not drink it. What if it’s poison. But as they say: "Russians can’t be beaten. Russian can only be bribed. " (He laughs).
- Were there doubts: if it’s really 70 percent, why have you come?
- There were. But 70 percent of one village, for me, are somehow inconsequential. You need to respect the people's choice. If Donetsk wants independence, you need to give it. Here, I talked with nurses and doctors and they say, if (only) we were to have independence and government like yours, and Putin.
But here’s an interesting question: DNR gets its independence - God be willing – what will they be doing? Develop like they did during Stalin's Five-Year Plan or what? There is no economy. And if there’s no economy - then nothing will happen.
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To be concluded in Part 3 of the interview
The guy sure has a big mouth. But it is certain, that he fought and was wounded in Ukraine. Whether he’s a regular soldier of the Russian Army and all of his accounts are true, that’s open to debate.
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