“They have more weapons, we have more truth”: who the Donbass militias are fighting with. How much do Donbass militias get paid?

Our fellow countryman, a former volunteer, one of the commanders of the Donbass militia, told Ulpravda about what happened in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and what is happening there now.

A common person. You could meet him on the street. Stocky, short-haired and slightly gray. In the recent past, a career officer, already several years in the reserve, Oleg (as he asked to be called) already had combat experience behind him and lived a peaceful life. But in the same sunny May as now, but in 2014, after the events in Odessa, he enlisted in the Donbass militia. Later he would be called one of the most experienced military leaders of the DPR. He is the one who not only saw this war from the first days, but also took part directly under the leadership of Igor Strelkov. But what was this man really fighting for? What did he believe and continue to believe? And why, three years later, does the fratricidal war in Ukraine, in the opinion of its direct participant, continue to smolder?

- What happened in Ukraine in 2014 and why did you go there?

Let's start with why I agreed to this interview. I think it is important to note three points. First, it is necessary to convey to the younger generation that war has no romance. This is not a movie. This is dirt and cold, blood and... in general, a choice, including the opportunity to remain human. Secondly, these are issues of patriotism and ideology, completely different from the Western cliches that have recently been implanted among the youth. Third, disagreement with real actions regarding the protection of part of society, which, by the will of fate, found itself hostage in the post-Soviet space to the violent flourishing of full-blown nationalism. We, the generation of children from the children of the war, swore allegiance to the Soviet people, just like those who today represent our government on behalf of the people. What should be decisive is not abstract international opinion, according to the very concept of “filkin’s literacy,” but a completely different concept based on national interests and values.

Now directly to the essence of the issue. In the winter of 2014, a coup d’etat took place in Kyiv, by armed means, and nationalists came to power. Not everyone on the territory of our formerly brotherly union republic agreed with this course of events, especially from the Russian-speaking population of the south and southeast of Ukraine. Then events began to take on the character of lawlessness. For example, buses with representatives of the Anti-Maidan on the way from Kyiv were met by armed Right Sector militants, people were beaten and mutilated, and many were not found after these events. Buses were smashed and burned. In the Donbass, popular resistance to the nationalist-minded new authorities was rising, and in Slavyansk they had already switched to armed resistance. Now to the “sports” matters (those interested can look at the schedule of football matches of the local championship for that period). At the end of April, groups of so-called “football fans”, under the patronage of criminal oligarchic structures, organized a massacre, first in Kharkov, with human casualties, and a couple of days later, on April 30, a similar attempt was made in Donetsk, but local activists were able to repel them . The most interesting thing is that law enforcement officers did not interfere in this process. Maidan destroyed all the foundations of state power. For the first time, the people realized the opportunity to resist thugs with the force of their own weapons - clubs, chains and torches. And after this defeat in Donetsk, the enraged football idiots went to Odessa, where on May 2 well-known events took place in the House of Trade Unions. On this day, I decided to volunteer to join the Donbass militia.

This is a small part of the forgotten history of “cheer for ours.” Instilled Western cliches, such as fights between English fans or the same fights on the hockey rink. This is not our sport and not our ideology. But it was beneficial for someone, under the guise of a “club” movement, to purposefully form organized “combat detachments” and apply them in the general scheme of events.

- What exactly did you do in the militia?

My previous experience, knowledge and skills were very useful both in organizing the training of militias and in organizing and conducting combat operations. We had to start from the very basics. Not all of those who arrived in the militia had served in the army, and most of them had no idea how to hold a weapon, what to do in battle (I repeat, this is not a movie), or even how to properly assist comrades who were wounded. Before giving a machine gun to a person, it was necessary to teach him the basics, from my point of view. To survive, for example, you need to be able to stop bleeding, fix damaged limbs and learn how to competently evacuate a wounded person from under fire. We have to remind you that by that time there were already dead and wounded in Slavyansk. The next step was tactical training - people had to know what and how to do on the battlefield. Here there are not only elements of individual soldier training, but also combat coherence of units. Particular attention was paid to the issues of interaction between units and the training of militia commanders, since there were simply not enough personnel or more or less understanding ones. Only after that were they taught to handle weapons. Without these basics in this order, everything else made no sense. It would be criminal for these people to give weapons to the unprepared and involve them in combat operations.

Later we encountered another problem: there were different fighters - both young and older, but none of them had the stamina. People stopped thinking after walking under load. And who to work with? Therefore, the next training issue for our units was the requirement to march at 30 km per day. This result was also achieved, and in the winter near Debaltsevo it came in handy.

-Who fought with you shoulder to shoulder?

People are completely different in religion, political views, and nationality. People came from everywhere to fight Nazism - from the Baltic states, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Western Europe, America. Volunteers from Chechnya, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Orthodox and atheists, Muslims and Old Believers, communists and non-partisans, and many others. A Russian and a Frenchman, a Tatar and a Serb, an Estonian and a Kazakh, an Armenian and an Azerbaijani fought shoulder to shoulder. Including citizens from other regions of Ukraine. There were Ulyanovsk volunteers and those who once served here. In the battle near Logvinovo (Debaltsevo operation), one of our militiamen with the call sign “Kaluga” was seriously wounded, and he once served in the brigade.

- As far as I know, you had the opportunity to work under the supervision of Igor Strelkov...

Yes, and I treat him with respect. He was a worthy commander of the militia, unlike, let’s say, the current leaders of the DPR and LPR, these more amenable to signing the “Minsk agreements.” As one of our comrades put it: “The truth was so distorted that literally everything changed places. Heroes turned into traitors, and scum became the first people in the state.” But in essence, today few people remember who Plotnitsky and Zakharchenko really were. Both are accommodating due to their ability to “change shoes.” The sad thing is that someone, in their own likeness, selected such characters into the so-called “power” at a historical moment.

- Why don’t you believe in the Minsk agreements?

An attempt at a political solution to the problem of the revolt of the people against the Kyiv junta, which carried out a coup d'etat and seized power by armed means, only leads to thousands of new victims on both sides of the conflict in Donbass. All this time people continue to die. Not only those who stand on both sides of the demarcation line, but also civilians in the region.

The armed confrontation has been going on for three years. Do we need to remind you about the Great Victory over the brown plague in the twentieth century, about 1418 days and nights with the retreat from the western borders to Moscow and the offensive from Stalingrad with the liberation of Berlin. Another year, and in terms of duration the conflict in Donbass has a chance to surpass the Great Patriotic War... For what? Why do gross violations continue? Those who disagreed were from the militia - well, they removed them. What's next? Various “political cunning plans” do not work, because their apologists are simply far from reality. Frankly: it’s time to stop trying to conduct a dialogue where they “wipe their feet” on it.

-Have you encountered war crimes?

All events in Donbass are war crimes that have no statute of limitations, therefore no Minsk agreements, no reconciliation of the parties can allow crimes to go unpunished. Starting with the well-known downed Boeing, a planned provocation by foreign intelligence services and carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the aim of slandering the militia - those who stood up to defend civilians. And besides this? Local residents, and not only those who took part in the militia, were subjected to brutal abuse by the nationalist battalions and the Ukrainian army. Probably, to talk about war crimes, we need to go back to the very beginning of the conflict. When the Ukrainian army came and shelled peaceful cities, not firing aimed fire, but with the seizure of territories after the retreat of the militia, it methodically destroyed the civilian population - people were brutally mocked, raped, and maimed. Those killed without trial or investigation were simply buried. After the liberation of some territories, for example, near Nizhnyaya Krynka, mass burial sites of mutilated and executed civilians were discovered. Similar burials have been discovered in other places. As far as I understand, only competent authorities can give a full assessment of the events. There is still so much to learn about these atrocities; let’s face it, not everyone’s heart can stand it.

- But the militia side is also accused of war crimes...

First, terminology. War crime or common crime? There were plenty of individual scoundrels everywhere, and not everyone came to defend the Russian world. I think I won’t be revealing anything new if I say that the public that came to join the militia was varied. There were those who came to profit from the war - “to whom is war, and to whom is mother,” as they say. At the moment, formed prosecutorial bodies and investigative bodies are working. Crimes committed by “false militias” who were involved in looting and other unpleasant things are being investigated. But again, these bodies today are mostly actively carrying out the political order of the “authorities” of the DPR and LPR, who continue to share the “skin of the unkilled bear” and profit from the grief and suffering of other citizens.

Secondly, if we still talk about war crimes in the militia, then this terminology includes only those who today betrayed the choice of the people of Donbass, expressed during the referendum on May 11, 2014, in favor of their mercantile interests. It is they, Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky, who came to power through betrayal, and now, in order to maintain this imaginary power, they commit various crimes, including against ideological field commanders and leaders of the popular movement. We may see such an assessment of events. Everything has its time.

- At what point did it become clear that the war would drag on for a long time?

When they try to resolve a military issue politically, without the mutual desire of the parties, they force one side of the conflict to submit to a political solution while the other side continues to fight - what kind of peaceful solution can we talk about? The “point of no return” was the presidential elections in Ukraine. Poroshenko was unable to fulfill his promises; frankly speaking, he did not even intend to follow them. And the war became completely irreversible. Now all political decisions are crazy attempts to “talk out” the problem.

- Was the Ukrainian army ready for combat?

What is the army's readiness for war? In general, the army must always be ready to march when ordered. Who did they swear allegiance to? What were they supposed to fight for and with whom? We can talk about quantitative and qualitative indicators. They had the strength and means, but did not have proper training. It should also be taken into account that shortly before the hostilities there was an armed coup d’etat, and the army was not ready morally, and given the past two-plus decades of independence and technically.

- Were the militias ready?

The militia was initially simple activists, people who took to improvised barricades and checkpoints with clubs, hunting rifles, and even just bandages on their arms. They didn't even understand what it was. And all this brown plague was already moving against Donbass. And it brought death.

The weapons were then gradually taken out and captured, as was the case in Slavyansk, when BMDs, 2S9s, tanks, mortars, and ZU-23 appeared. During real battles, only our units captured armored vehicles: three BMP-2, one BMP-1k, one BRM-1k with the entire set of reconnaissance equipment, three BTR-80. There was an MTLB, which was converted to evacuate the wounded. The second MTLB with the D-30 and BM-21 howitzers was presented to the artillerymen.

But war is not only about weapons. This includes equipment, equipment for recreation areas, the same sleeping bags, and finally, personal hygiene products and food.

Has anyone ever wondered what it is to refuel a tank? A little over a ton of diesel fuel. Refueling one tank costs 40 thousand rubles.

So the “absent” rear for the success of those who held weapons in their hands was provided by various organizations and individuals who did a lot for the common cause. I can’t even list all those who helped, and it would be rude to list and accidentally leave someone out.

- But, as they say, there were problems with communication technology...

There were and still are problems with communication. Communication is everything. At the first stage, they used more cell phones, each with several numbers and several call signs. It was impossible to ensure communication any other way, and besides, the enemy had similar problems. Therefore, basically they did not jam us, and the Ukrainian side was interested in listening, just like us. Later, our units learned to interact in time in accordance with planning, which reduced the dependence on enemy wiretapping, but the need for normal means of communication and components remains relevant.

- Did mercenaries and foreign troops really fight on the side of Ukraine?

Yes, they were both at Donetsk airport and in Debaltsevo. But what did it solve then and what can it solve now? Nothing. There is no idea behind them, no driving force. And the NATO countries are not capable of a full-scale war, no matter how much they console themselves with loud sobs in the Western media to the public. They are far from the truth. And let them remain there - in the world of their own illusions and delusions.

- Why are you not in Donbass now? The war continues...

Officially there is no war. In fact, this is a “blockade” that allows the so-called “authorities” to sit on the flow of financial and humanitarian aid on behalf of the people.

At a certain period, after the signing of the Minsk agreements, the militia was reformed into contract units. This is a different format, and now “he who pays calls the tune.” The one who pays... he is satisfied with this state of affairs of a sluggish conflict and the cutting of budget money. This is the true “let not the hand of the giver fail” in humanitarian aid. And the longer the war continues (and it seems like it’s not a war anymore), the more “dark horses” can earn from it. There were people willing to sit in the trenches, especially for money. How long?

So the volunteers came out of sheer enthusiasm, for free.

And today we are not needed. And we will be very needed when things get tough again.

So there is a future for the volunteer movement in the interests of Russia!

Andrey TVOROGOV

Photo from the volunteer’s personal archive

There are a lot of rumors surrounding military operations in eastern Ukraine. First of all, there are many reports in the Ukrainian media that it is not Ukrainian volunteers who are fighting on the side of the self-proclaimed republics. In turn, there is a lot of information that the National Guard consists mainly of nationalist militants from the Maidan self-defense and the Right Sector, who are paid by Poroshenko. Both among those and among others there are both well-trained personnel and unfired fighters - these are those who are fighting with the Lugansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic. However, given that in the ranks of the Ukrainian security forces there are many mobilized people who have never held a weapon in their hands, it is generally not surprising why casualties among the civilian population are increasing. There is also information that more than 400 militants from an American private military company, and about the same number from a Polish PMC, are fighting on the side of the Ukrainian government. The Baltic countries sent two dozen snipers, and journalists spotted Italian mercenaries in the Azov battalion, which belongs to the National Guard.

And who is fighting on the side of the militias in Slavyansk and other cities in the southeast of the country? There are also many professionals on the other side of the barricades, not only from Ukraine, but also from other countries. Thus, ten Ossetian volunteers who participated in the battles with Georgia in 2008 are fighting for the DPR. According to some reports, they are training volunteers of the Vostok battalion, which was recruited from residents of the Donetsk environs. The situation with the DPR is somewhat similar to the one that developed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Those republics were also not recognized by the West, but the war there lasted more than 20 years.

Who else is fighting in Ukraine? A dozen Chechens are fighting for the militia, according to some sources out of even 14, which was confirmed by the President of Chechnya Kadyrov. However, according to him, these Chechens went to Ukraine of their own free will, no one sent them there. There has been a lot of talk in the Ukrainian press that the Vostok battalion in Ukraine consists of Chechens, but this is not so. In fact, the battalion was given this name because it consists of residents of eastern Ukraine. Moreover, eyewitnesses say that there are no Chechens in this battalion at all. However, there are indeed Russian citizens there who do not hide this. This information is confirmed by Dmitry Tymchuk, head of the Kiev Center for Military-Political Research. According to him, there are no regular Chechen units in eastern Ukraine, and the Vostok battalion consists mainly of local residents, although there are several Ossetians in it. According to Tymchuk, the name of the battalion “Vostok” is a desire to speculate on the Chechen image. This formation is volunteer and there are no mercenaries in it.

However, when talking about who is fighting in the Donbass on the side of the DPR, one cannot fail to mention representatives of other countries. For example, there are Serbs there who have sufficient military experience gained during the years of the civil war and resistance to the NATO invasion. They have a lot of valuable information in order to understand the strategy for further actions, since the situation in Ukraine is similar. This is also a civil war, and the West stands up for one of the sides. In addition, Poles and Israelis from the Aliya volunteer battalion are also fighting for the southeast.

In general, the militia in the east is believed to consist of three parts. The first is the core, which includes former Ukrainian security forces and representatives of the special services, as well as fighters of the Berkut unit. Due to their professional combat tactics, the Kyiv authorities could confuse them with the Russian military. Tymchuk also states that former employees of the SBU and Ukrainian army special forces are also fighting for the separatists. The second largest part of the militia is the huge number of local volunteers who are essentially a self-defense force. They have a different and very diverse form, there is no uniformity in weapons. Mostly these are weapons seized from police warehouses or hunting rifles. The third militia group includes foreign volunteers, as well as mercenaries who came to Ukraine from abroad. These are mostly Russian citizens and have already been nicknamed “military tourists.” Their motives are very different - the search for adventure, the desire for military romance, and the desire to make money. There is also a motley composition here - from professional military men to adventurers. There are representatives of the Cossacks and nationalists who came to fight for the idea. Militants come not only from Russia, but also from many other countries - Poland, Serbia, Italy, Bulgaria, Germany and even France. This group also includes immigrants from Chechnya, who could well have been members of the Chechen Vostok battalion.

http://youtu.be/_2BhR9rLtLU

Foreign volunteers are generally paid, analysts say. This probably depends on their military experience, but technically the funds go through the DPR structures. It is obvious that not only local volunteers without military experience are fighting for the militias. They have experienced military mentors, and every day the combat experience of Donbass volunteers, who lived a peaceful life a few months ago, is steadily growing.

Who is fighting in the Donbass militia? Where did these people come from? Below are a dozen militia members, photos, family, views on life. Some of them are no longer alive, some are still fighting, some have returned to Russia. You can consider these 10 people (a whole platoon) as a sociological cross-section: who in the Russian Federation is actually ready to go to war and for what.

It is interesting how much the goals of people who go to war diverge from the goals of those who started this war and supply them with weapons. The first (volunteers) are fighting “for Rus'”, the second (the Kremlin) are fighting to save their capital (stolen) from the Maidan in Moscow. And these two vectors strangely combined in Donbass.

1. Matvey Efremov, St. Petersburg.

Political beliefs: monarchist, activist of the RIM (Russian Imperial Movement)

From the RID program :

"The primary tasks of the Russian national government, from the point of view of RID, are:

Proclamation of the Russian Empire with a monarchical form of government on the territory of the Russian Federation. Appointment of the Supreme Ruler (regent, dictator) until the convening of the All-Russian Zemsky Council for the calling of a new Monarch to the kingdom."

Matvey Efremov was killed on July 4, 2014 on the road between Semenovka and Slavyansk. A minibus with militias was ambushed. Matvey is survived by his wife and three children.

2. Oleg Melnikov, St. Petersburg.

Oleg Melnikov is standing second from left.Political beliefs: liberal.

Defender of the Khimki Forest, participant in the protests on Bolotnaya on May 6, 2012 against the “re-election” of dictator Putin.

Oleg on Bolotnaya.

On July 4, 2014, Oleg Melnikov was traveling in the same minibus with Matvey Efremov from Slavyansk to Semyonovka. Oleg was lucky - he was simply wounded.

3. Alexey Yurin, Mozhaisk.

Alexey is a paratrooper from Russia, served in the 45th division. special purpose airborne regiment (Kubinka, Moscow region). In the photo - the one on the far right.

Political beliefs are unknown.

With girlfriend

At the Donetsk airport, shortly after arriving in Ukraine.

In a few hours

Alexey Yurin was killed on May 26, 2014 in the first battle (for the airport). He was 21 years old.

4. Nikolai Leonov, Dnepropetrovsk.

World champion in kickboxing, graduated from the Poltava Theological Seminary, composed songs in the style of “Orthodox rap” (and this happens, it turns out).

Political beliefs: monarchist.

Nikolai Leonov in the center of Donetsk on May 25, 2014. He has 1 day left to live.

On May 26, 2014, Nikolai Leonov died in the battle for the airport along with paratrooper Alexei Yurin from Russia. He was buried in his homeland in Dnepropetrovsk.

5. Alexey Lemets, village Nizhnyaya Krynka, Donetsk region.

Donbass miner, 31 years old, father of three children. Political views are unknown.

Enlisted in the militia, died on June 19, 2014 near Slavyansk. Direct hit from a mortar. There was nothing left of the body.

Elena Lemets, widow of the deceased:

“He wanted to protect his family, his children, his native land. I didn’t dare, I couldn’t dissuade Lesha - after all, he is a man, he always made decisions himself,” says Lena.
Lena received terrible news at night - Alexei’s brother came and directly said: “You no longer have a husband, and I no longer have a brother.” Together with Lesha, two more of his comrades died. They were buried there, in Slavyansk, in a mass grave."

Widow and three children.


6. Artur Gasparyan, from Moscow.

Came to Moscow to work in 2011 from Armenia. Guest worker. Political views are unknown.

Impressed by the events in Odessa, on May 2, 2013, he signed up as a volunteer in Donbass. He fought a little, miraculously survived in a meat grinder at the airport on May 26, then became disillusioned with the DPR. He crossed back the border and returned to the Russian Federation. And he gave a detailed interview to the American Radio Liberty about his trip to Donbass. First there was a meeting with a recruiter in Moscow, then a training camp near Rostov, then they were transported to Donetsk. No money was promised:

“No daily allowance, no travel allowance, only free food, uniforms, weapons and a guarantee that the bodies will be brought to Rostov and given to relatives, if, of course, they are found...”

About the composition of the militia and the local freeloaders:

"Majority[militia] There are Russians, Chechens, Ingush, like me, from Armenia too. I talked to the locals, they say that we did what was required of us. I say: “What was required of you?” They say: “We voted, and the rest is up to you.” I mean, a referendum on self-determination of Donbass, we don't want to fight. One actually told me: “I want to get my salary, drink until the next salary.”

Artur Gasparyan with a comrade in arms:

“On the night of May 25-26, we were put on alert... We boarded civilian buses and went to the airport. In a detachment of one hundred people, we entered the building, and Ossetians also joined us...Ukrainian military around the airport. There was some mischief that we were so cool and everyone was afraid of us. But it turned out exactly the opposite. At two o'clock helicopters arrived, then planes and began to bomb the port...

We went down to the first floor, just sat and waited for death. It was impossible to go outside. Someone called our commander, his call sign is “Iskra,” who has one hundred people under his command, and the command was given to load into KamAZ trucks. It was already evening. The cars were parked inside the terminal. I didn’t want to get into KamAZ, I understood that it was risky. “Iskra” told me: “If you discuss the order, I’ll shoot you on the spot.”

We took down the awnings and open cars full of volunteers. Our KamAZ takes off from the terminal, and we start shooting in all directions... We flew by at crazy speed, I didn’t have time to see that someone else was shooting. Five hundred meters later, our car was hit by a grenade launcher, the shell hit under the driver’s cabin, and we overturned. As it turned out, we were lucky; we flew off the board and were hurt, but without any fractures. The car that was hit first was finished off with machine guns in crossfire..."

One of the Kamaz trucks that became a mass grave.

Miraculously surviving in Donetsk, Gasparyan became disillusioned with the DPR:

"Everything is hopeless, disorganized. There are so many commanders... Every third person declares himself a commander. Some group organizes its own group. There is no unified command. I thought it would be like in the army: strict regime, organization, communication, coherence. None of this there wasn’t, that’s why I left.”

7. Kirill Rimkus, Petersburg.

Rimkus is second from the left, standing holding the LPR flag



And also "Yarussky".

Close-up photo.


Against the backdrop of the Winter Palace, in the center of the cultural capital.

By the way, Kirill Leonidovich Rimkus went to Donbass to fight Ukrainian fascism not alone, but with a friend, Alexey Yuryevich Milchakov.

8. Alexey Milchakov, St. Petersburg.

A familiar photo. Alexey Milchakov is second from the right, with his gun raised.
Political beliefs: Nazi.

Hobbies: sadistic flayer

In 2011, he became famous throughout the Internet by publishing on his VKontakte page a photo of the brutal murder of a puppy and the preparation of shish kebab from it.

Ukrainian media published reports in July 2014 that Milchakov was killed in Donbass.

However, these reports have not been confirmed by independent sources. In any case, Milchakov’s VKontakte page continues to be updated regularly.

9. Anton Raevsky, St. Petersburg.

Political beliefs: Nazi

From a post on Raevsky’s VKontakte page dated July 3, 2014.

“It’s very funny to read messages and comments from Ukrainians and Putinoids. They and others call me a Russian fascist and a Nazi. If everything is clear with Ukrainian chauvinists-Russophobes, then especially for fans of Putin, Starikov, Kurginyan and other Kremlin I say: in the militia, in the army of the DPR a large number of Russian National Assembly and monarchists, and NOT A SINGLE comrade-in-arms of the “Great Fatherland Party” party, the “United Russia” party and the “Essence of Time”. Continue crowing the Kremlin"

10. Sergey Zhdanovich, Elektrogorsk (Moscow region)

Special forces instructor. Previously, he fought in Chechnya (46th separate special forces brigade), served in the riot police.

Chechnya. 2002, Zhdanovich - far right.

Political beliefs: member of the party "United Russia". I could live - not bother, calmly serve as a veteran:

Relax in sanatoriums in Pyatigorsk

But at the call of the party, Sergei Borisovich went to Donbass to help the militia. On May 14, 2014, he left and told his family that he was going to military training in Rostov-on-Don. On May 26 he died in Donetsk.

The photo below was taken at the Donetsk airport, a few hours before his death. During an attempt to seize the airport, Sergei Zhdanovich was killed.

He was buried in Elektrogorsk quietly, without unnecessary noise. Children from the local military-patriotic club "Thunder", which the deceased supervised in the city, came to the funeral. Now this club bears his name.

This is not an idle question! Here we have patriots shouting and roaring in unison that there is a civil war going on in Ukraine. That Donbass “did not agree with Maidan.” That Donetsk people want to live in accordance with their cultural traditions. And also about some kind of federalization. And about some kind of junta...
But what does all this mean in practice?
Let's figure it out. And let's start with the “coup”, which Donbass allegedly did not agree with. Even Putin himself did not hesitate to voice this utterly stupid version. And this version is a pathetic lie.
The fact is that no one in Ukraine liked Yanukovych, who was overthrown by the Maidan. To put it mildly, the Donetsk people did not adore him either. No one cried for the overthrown thief either in the west or in the east of Ukraine. No one in Donbass or Lugansk has ever put forward the anti-Maidan slogan “Give us back the Golden Loaf, let him continue to steal!” No one felt sorry for the thief.
You can choose different definitions for the Maidan - “coup”, “revolution” - but all this in this context has no meaning. Just as the word “junta” has no meaning when applied to the Kyiv authorities. Because the junta is a group of military men who seized and retain power. And after the flight of the Golden Loaf to its true owners, national elections took place in Ukraine, in which each voter could vote for the candidate who was more favorable to him. Nobody stopped the South-East from voting. Moreover, democracy does not provide for any other procedures for organizing power, except for elections.

The “uprising” in the South-East did not start at all because of disagreement with the Maidan (what was there to disagree with - the flight of a thieving and cowardly ex-president? with the subsequent elections?) No! The armed rebellion in the Southeast against their own country was started not by local residents, but by armed terrorists from a neighboring country - by a strange coincidence, the very one to which the exiled Thief fled. And the well-known Girkin began this rebellion, by his own admission, not because he wanted some mysterious “federalization” for the Donetsk residents, but because, as an imperialist, he considered and still considers these lands to belong not to Ukraine, but to Russia. And Donetsk residents, relying on the Crimean scenario, simply went to a referendum and voted for increased Russian pensions. After which they admitted: “We didn’t plan to fight. We already did everything that was needed - no less than the Crimeans did - we voted! But for some reason Russia didn’t take us...”
Yes, Russia didn’t take them. But she began to give free advice - it was then that the word “federalization” was first heard. Before this, the Donetsk people didn’t even know what they wanted. It turned out - federalization! What a surprise!
Soon, Donetsk residents learned to pronounce this word, but still do not fully understand its meaning - you don’t seriously think that former car washers, mechanics and rope factory workers running around with machine guns understand the intricacies of the redistribution of power and financial powers between the center and the regions! Just yesterday they were gnawing on seeds on their haunches!..
And of course, they do not have any special “cultural traditions” that are different from other citizens of Ukraine - they do not slaughter sheep in the streets, drink the same vodka and once a year at Easter they baptize Easter cakes, clumsily pretending that they are praying to the same crucified God. What is natural: we all come from Stalin’s overcoat, we all have the same cultural background. And to talk about something very separate means to lie - to lie as shamelessly and brazenly as about the sacredness of Crimea for Russian people, 99% of whom had never heard that Prince Vladimir was baptized in Crimea. And don't give a damn...

Conclusions? What the militias are fighting for, they themselves do not know. Because this war in Ukraine was started and supported by Russia. There is demand from her.

Arthur Gasparyan is 24 years old, he comes from the city of Spitak (Armenia). In May, he was recruited in Moscow and traveled to eastern Ukraine to fight for the separatists. He recently returned to the Russian capital, where he gave an extensive interview.

Gasparyan fought in the ranks of the Vostok battalion militia

The first time you expressed your desire to go to fight in Ukraine on one of the forums of the social network VKontakte, after you read about the burned down Trade Union House in Odessa, when 42 pro-Moscow separatists died. What happened next?

About ten people came to the meeting not far from VDNKh. We spoke in the courtyard of one of the residential buildings. We were met by a man of Slavic appearance and in civilian clothes, who did not give his name.

First of all, he asked if we knew how to handle weapons. He warned that we would go to Slavyansk, and it was likely that certain death would await us, and also that looting there was punishable by execution on the spot. (In the latter, by the way, I had the opportunity to verify personally several times during my stay in Ukraine). After these warnings, two potential recruits immediately left.

Did they promise you money?

They did not promise any salary or daily allowance. Only free food, clothing, weapons and a promise in case of death to send our bodies to Rostov-on-Don to then hand them over to relatives. If, of course, they find them. They insisted that we delete all our online accounts, all personal information. I deleted my pages from VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.

How did you get to the Ukrainian border?

On the morning of May 12, our group loaded into two cars and headed south. We reached Rostov in 24 hours. It turned out that the drivers were also volunteers. One of them, by the way, died. Then we were taken to a militia camp - several small houses between the river bank and the forest - I don’t know where exactly. They took all our road maps. Phones and other gadgets were blocked and also taken away, as were other personal belongings. We changed into what we were given.

How long were you in this camp?

About two weeks. Every day more and more new volunteers came. By the end there were about a hundred of us there. We spent all this time in military training, with almost no rest. We got up, went for a run, then had breakfast, then we were taught military wisdom, including orienteering in the forest. We also learned to communicate with our hands.

What do you mean by “communication with hands”?

We were taught to understand gestures with which we could recognize each other, convey information at night in silence and give signals such as “back”, “stop”, “lie down”, “danger”, etc.

Now I can communicate with gestures, just like mutes do. All this was taught to us by an instructor in civilian clothes. Just like other big and small leaders, he did not give his name. We didn't even know each other's names, only call signs. Even now I don’t know the names of most of the guys who died next to me in this hell.

Did you have any military experience before Ukraine? Maybe during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh?

There were mostly firefights, automatic weapons and grenade launchers were used. There is no comparison with the Ukrainian war. However, I knew more about the war than other guys who trained in this camp.

Were there Russian nationalists among them?

I didn’t see any nationalists, although most of them were Slavs. And who they are - Russians, Ukrainians or Belarusians, I cannot say. They were good guys, patriots. Nobody treated me differently because I was Armenian.

Several guys came from the Caucasus, there were Armenians from Krasnodar and from the Ukrainian city of Krivoy Rog. A little later, several Chechens arrived. We became very friendly with some of them - one guy was called Red, and the other Petty. They were both killed in those KamAZ trucks.

How did you cross the border?

Around midnight on May 23 we left the camp. There were about a hundred of us guys in Kamaz and Niva vehicles. We drove for several hours and stopped at the border. There about fifty more guys from other camps joined us and we were given weapons: grenade launchers, machine guns, pistols and grenades. After that, we again sat in our cars.

Were you taught to shoot?

Some knew how to shoot grenade launchers. I was appointed commander of a group of machine gunners of three to six guys after they saw my military documents.

I think that they had special numerical codes that I did not immediately attach importance to. When they called me, they asked me to read this code. So they understood how to use my skills. Obviously, they worked this way with each individual.

Gasparyan (right) with other soldiers of the Vostok battalion

Who do you mean when you say “they”? Are these people from the FSB, GRU, Ministry of Internal Affairs? Who met you, taught you, transported you across the border?

I don’t know anything about them, neither last names nor first names. They looked like Slavs. All of them were in civilian clothes. I don't even remember their faces.

When did you cross the border?

At dawn on May 24th. From the Ukrainian side we were met by a representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. By that time, they had captured a military base in Donetsk and placed us there in barracks. We slept all day. Then we washed ourselves and put ourselves in order.

The next day, May 25, we took part in the parade, driving through the streets in our KamAZ trucks - this was the very time when the Chechens got into all the world media. They willingly gave interviews, shot in the air, and posed for photos. People greeted volunteers from Russia as liberators. In the evening we returned to the barracks.

When was your first fight?

We were alerted on the night of May 25-26. There were three guys in my group - from Moscow, Lipetsk and Chukotka. They all died. We boarded civilian buses and went to the airport.

We entered the airport building, where a group of Odessa residents joined us. Passengers were quickly evacuated, but airport employees remained at their jobs. Two planes landed in the morning; we did not interfere with the airport’s operations. The building was quickly taken under full control.

Our people controlled the situation on every floor. My assistant and I were responsible for the seventh floor, right under the roof. We were given the task of scanning the surrounding area for about half a kilometer so that no one could get close. We installed a machine gun.

What was the point of seizing the civilian airport of Donetsk? The main battles at that time took place in a completely different place, near Slavyansk.

So that they cannot land planes with reinforcements from Kyiv. We were told that no one would shoot at us. They just pose for the cameras and that's it. That they will see us, get scared and immediately give up. We will disarm them and send them home. The airport will be ours.

What do you have in mind?

Ukrainian troops were stationed around the airport. There were rumors that we were superior to them in strength and that they were afraid of us. But it turned out that everything is quite the opposite.

At two o'clock the helicopters arrived. Then the planes started bombing us. I counted four helicopters and two airplanes. My friend and I were on the roof. When the bombing began, we quickly went down to the sixth floor.

Did you have anti-aircraft artillery?

Our commander from the Vostok battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky [head of the Security Service of the Donetsk People's Republic, former Alpha commander] said that they would not bomb the airport and that we would not need anti-aircraft guns. So we left them at the base.

Pro-Russian militias on the roof of Donetsk International Airport, May 26, 2014

There were agents from the Security Service of Ukraine who went over to the side of the Donetsk People's Republic. They had very unusual weapons - I have never seen anything like them. They left at about one o'clock in the afternoon, and the bombing began at two.

What happened on your floor?

One Chechen was killed on the roof immediately. Two more were wounded. They fired from helicopters with everything they had. They forced us to go down inside, sit in the building, and began bombing from all sides. Along the perimeter of the airport were their missile launchers, from which they fired at the terminal.

Khodakovsky naively thought that since the airport was new (it was opened in 2012 for the European Football Championship), no one would dare to destroy it. This would never have happened if we had our anti-aircraft guns.

Do you think it was betrayal or incompetence?

I don't know. We lost a lot of people. One of the Chechens - a very smart guy - threw a couple of smoke bombs onto the roof and was able to pull out his wounded comrades. We made our way down to the first floor and just sat there waiting to be killed.

We couldn't get out. Someone contacted the commander - a man with the call sign Iskra - and we were ordered to load into the trucks. It was almost evening. The trucks were parked inside the terminal. I didn't want to get into the car. I knew how risky it was. Iskra told me, “If you challenge orders, I will shoot you right here.” I took the weapon and climbed into the truck.

How many people were in the truck?

There were two trucks, 30-35 people in each. The covering group remained at the airport. They went out on foot at night - everyone got out. Iskra ordered to leave the terminal and shoot at everything that moves. We raised the tarpaulin. Our truck pulled out and we started shooting in all directions. We were able to travel about 4 or 5 kilometers along the road. There were about 500-600 meters between the trucks. We drove and shot without stopping. It was scary.

A Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter fires heat traps over residential areas after an attack on Donetsk International Airport on May 26, 2014.

I stopped shooting when I realized that there was no one. When we arrived in town, we saw the first truck standing on the road. I didn't understand what was happening. Cars were driving by, people were standing around - this was in the suburbs of Donetsk.

Were there dead or wounded?

We drove past at high speed. I have not seen. Someone was still shooting. After 500 meters, someone fired a grenade launcher at our truck. The missile hit the cockpit. We realized how lucky we were and jumped out. We were slightly crushed, but no one was injured. The truck they fired at first was caught in the crossfire of the machine guns. Snipers were also shooting at them. At least 30 people died there.

Then they started shooting at us from somewhere. I threw down my gun and picked up one wounded guy from Crimea. I put him on my back and ran a little, aimlessly. Our medic found us. He had a weapon, I took it and started shooting in all directions, at the roofs. And he ran on with this wounded guy.

Did you know who controls the city?

We were sure that the city had been taken over by the National Guard and that they were looking for us. We got to the first aid station and I fired a couple of times in the direction of the roof to get their attention. My comrade was bleeding. He was wounded in the leg and arm. I started shouting to the doctors, “Help him,” and the woman shouted in response, “Don’t worry, we’re here for you!” We put the Crimean in an ambulance and they took him to the hospital. I told them where the trucks were, and six ambulances went there. Soon they brought the wounded to the hospital.

Someone told me that only three of the first truck survived. It was a nightmare and horror. Someone told me that one guy blew himself up with a grenade to avoid being captured by the Ukrainians. They did not realize that they were being attacked by their own people. It appears that someone told the local militia that the Right Sector was approaching them in two trucks.

What was the official version?

On TV they said something like that the militias were transporting unarmed wounded under the sign of the red cross, and that the Ukrainian forces shot them. Until that moment, I did not know that we were attacked by our own forces. I was sure it was the National Guard. Around the morning of the 27th, two guys from the cover group who remained at the airport woke me up and told me that it was friendly fire.

Commander of the Vostok battalion Alexander Khodakovsky near Donetsk on June 1, 2014.

We were thinking what to do next. We decided to leave at night, secretly, on foot, back to the border and to Russia. We found a civilian, changed clothes, took several backpacks and left the unit. There was a driver with us, nicknamed Schumacher. He said that he had an uncle near Donetsk. The six of us reached his private house to spend the night. On the morning of the 28th we heard someone screaming from a neighboring house: “Don’t shoot! Don't kill us! It turned out that they had sent a detachment after us.

How did they find you?

I don't know. Maybe someone ratted us out. We threw our clothes and everything else and ran away again. We were just hanging out on the streets without money or documents. Then we got to the checkpoint in Gorlovka and told our story. From the checkpoint we were sent to their commander with the call sign “Bes”. But that is another story.

Why did you spend two weeks with “The Imp”?

We had no choice. I didn't know how to get out. The demon turned out to be a normal guy, he is a professional military man from Gorlovka. He promised to send us back to Russia at the first opportunity. All five of us stayed with him. We told what happened to us, and he said that he would not return us to the “Easterns.” And left us alone. Then those who wanted to fight further remained. I left.

I put my uniform back on. We were given weapons and took part in several operations. They were better organized, more systematic. We carried out several acts of sabotage - we snuck in, blew them up, got out. We blew up a Ukrainian gas station in Dokuchaevsk. At night we made our way to them in civilian vehicles. I covered the positions with a machine gun, and they blew up the post with a grenade launcher.

Why did you blow up the fuel depot?

So that they cannot refuel their tanks and trucks.

Don't you need fuel?

We didn't have transport. He started showing up at the militia about three days before I left.

What story did you see on TV that amazed you the most?

When they do interviews with people from the Donetsk People's Republic, it is a fiction. The DPR, as I understand it, exists only in the offices of [self-proclaimed Prime Minister Alexander Borodai], [self-proclaimed Speaker of the DPR Parliament Denis] Pushilin, [former Ukrainian MP Oleg Tsarev]. Decisions are made somewhere else by other people.

Journalists who have been to the region say that about 20 percent of those fighting are Russians, and the remaining 80 percent are local militias

I would say exactly the opposite. Most of them are Russians, Chechens, and Ingush. There are also Armenians like me. I spoke to some locals and they say they did what they were told. I say, “What did they tell you to do?” They say: “We voted. And the rest is up to you.” That is, they took part in the referendum, but are not going to fight. One told me, “I want to get paid and drink until the next paycheck.” Overall they have no experience. They don't know how to handle weapons. Nobody was in the army. I'm talking about Donetsk.

And in Gorlovka?

It's 50/50. But the Russians fight better. These are people who were in the army. This is a real army - Ukraine hasn’t had a real army for 23 years.

Why are you telling us all this?

Until this moment, the people who - in essence - betrayed us (what happened at the airport could have been avoided, and everything would have been different if it had been organized correctly) are still giving orders, and volunteers from Russia are still come to their service. I want these people to understand who is bossing them. I left. It was a miracle that I survived. I don’t want them to serve people like Khodakovsky and others. I don't know all of them by name.

How did you return to Russia?

The demon kept his word. He thanked us, gave us each 1000 hryvnia for the journey, wished us good luck, and sent us home. There were three other guys with me. One is the wounded one, and two others. We drove in civilian cars around the Lugansk region, drove around customs points, and drove about 150 kilometers. We were met on the Russian side and transported to Rostov. As a result, we ended up at the same base where we were trained. They returned our documents, clothes, phones, gave us money for travel and sent us home.

You are a citizen of Armenia, another country...

I even fought under the flag of Armenia. I have photographs.

Why were you ready to die for a foreign country?

I do not consider Russia a foreign country. I have the mentality of a Soviet person. My grandfathers fought for the Soviet Union, and I am fighting for it. I do not consider Russia a foreign country.