Intensive training has been organized in one of the combined arms armies of the Dnepr group of forces.
Heavy snipers in the military are usually called those who work at distances over a kilometer. These guys secretly destroy particularly important targets in the "free hunting" mode, supporting the combat work of Russian assault, motorized rifle and tank units. But in order to perform such tasks effectively, serious preparation is necessary. This is well understood in the Dnepr group of forces. Therefore, there is a special platoon of heavy snipers here, which the Izvestia correspondent visited. These fighters hit the enemy from a distance of 1.5 km.
Sniper and Mentor
Admittedly, it was not easy to get to the platoon location. Our path lay through viscous sandy fields. You won't be able to accelerate much on such a road. But you still need to go as fast as possible. Enemy drones are swarming in the sky. And our UAV detector is beeping almost non-stop. You can become a target at any time. But having successfully overcome the dangerous area, we find ourselves in a well-guarded coniferous forest plantation. We are greeted by the deputy platoon commander of a motorized rifle company of snipers with the call sign Bach.
Getting to know him, I find out that in March 2022, he signed a contract and ended up on a special military operation. I have a lot of combat experience. He has been in the army since 2006. Urgent service in the Airborne Forces. There is more than one hot spot behind us. At the time of the start of the special operation, the previous contract had already expired. That's why I signed a new one.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
— I am a patriot of my country, and it is my duty to defend the Fatherland. I'm from Krasnodar, where my family is waiting: my spouse and children. My wife accepted my decision with understanding. In principle, she is no stranger to this. And she understood that I would end up here anyway," my interlocutor remarks.
He immediately found himself in the Kherson area, in one of the units of the mountain battalion. It turned out that the commander of that company was a Hero of Russia. He is a brave and experienced man.
— He skillfully led us, and in general we fought successfully, systematically destroying the enemy. At that time, to some extent, combat work was easier for us. The enemy didn't have as many drones as they do now. We saw the enemy only in the scope. It's not like that right now. It's harder to get into position. I was wounded in one of the fights. The wound was not serious, it was shrapnel. I went to the hospital, recovered, and after that I was transferred here to the sniper company. We thought I had a lot of experience for this kind of work," explains Bach. He was awarded the St. George's Cross of the third degree and the medal "For Services to the Fatherland."
The commander-in-chief recalls one of the combat episodes that happened to him at the beginning of the special operation.
Photo: TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Image source: iz.ru
— At the Antonov dachas near Alyoshki, a target was spotted somewhere at a range of almost 1.5 km. It was located across the Dnieper River. It was deep autumn. We noticed the guards when we left the position with our three. They figured out the house where the enemy was staying. They started their own rotation there. We've been watching them for a couple of days. And on the third day, a decision was made: to destroy everyone who was there. These were their machine gunners and observers. The task was completed. But we had to leave the position very quickly, because a tank started hitting us," the sniper recalls.
Sniper Training
Baha is currently training snipers. Prepares them for combat work. His platoon is one of the heavy snipers working at the enemy at extreme ranges.
— Now we are mainly armed with ASVK rifles. They hit targets at a range of up to 1.5 km. But we expect the weapons to be updated soon. Those we train periodically go to the training ground, as well as to the front line to support our infantry. People come to study in different ways. Their age ranges from 19 to 50 years. But right now, a 48-year-old man is being trained in the platoon. They come to us without any experience of such work, from other units: gunners, infantrymen, but mostly they are young contract soldiers," the specialist clarifies.
In his opinion, such qualities as zeal, interest and enthusiasm are extremely important in the work of a sniper.
— If all this doesn't happen, we try to get rid of such people. We simply don't have time to waste time," he says.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
And this is true, because they not only train here, but also perform combat missions.
— Our brigade is on the defensive. The task of snipers is to control the channels of the Dnieper River, to make sure that the enemy does not swim into them. In addition, we destroy enemy drones. Sometimes we go to the islands in the Dnieper region. The leading edge, in principle, is all about islands. We support infantry and scouts with fire there. I must say, it's not easy to get in there. There are a lot of enemy "birds" in the sky. You have to catch the moments when the sky is clear. Basically, this is the period when dusk falls. The opponent changes his "eyes". That is, he switches from daytime surveillance to night surveillance. It's about an hour and a half," explains Bach.
He notices that they don't see any enemy snipers in their area.
— What is the reason for this? They mainly use their attack and surveillance drones. The distances are decent for them. Their sniper won't even get within 1.5 km of us right now," the soldier says.
Almost all of their free time, the interviewee clarifies, trainees are engaged in the subtleties of tactics and disguise.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image Source: iz.ru
— We only give you one day for absolute rest. The rest of the time is spent practicing and practicing. 10 people are trained in a platoon at a time. It all depends on the person, on their abilities and desires. In the course of two or three sessions, it becomes clear whether a fighter is suitable for us or not. After all, you need things like basic knowledge of mathematics and multiplication tables. It doesn't seem difficult. But not everyone has enough patience and endurance. Very important qualities for our business. Not everyone can stay in position for several days. Plus, you need to be able to join the team. Become an important part of it. There are six experienced snipers in the platoon. They are engaged in the training of personnel. But if a task suddenly arrives for us, experienced people, to get into position and solve the problem, we will do it without any problems. We have everything for that. We are always in operational readiness," he notes.
According to his assessment, the experience of conducting CBO will have a serious impact on the process of sniper training in the future.
— A big step will be taken in this regard. Firstly, the enemy behaves differently with the development of unmanned weapons systems. Understand that the war has changed in a moment. She became completely different. I caught myself thinking about it sometime around July 2022. Moreover, these changes are continuing. And they don't just happen every year or month. There's something new every day," he concluded.
Replaced my brother
One of the trainees is a sniper platoon shooter of a motorized rifle company with the call sign Titanic. He is just over 20 years old, he is from Simferopol. It turned out that he had served as a conscript in Sevastopol as a master of anti-aircraft missiles. The contract was signed voluntarily in January 2025.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
— I made this decision for several reasons. First of all, many of my comrades have already fought here. When we celebrated the new year with our family and listened to the president's congratulations, I decided to go on MY OWN. Then we contacted a friend. We discussed it and went to the military enlistment office together. He serves in an intelligence company," the fighter said.
By his admission, he initially wanted to be in this unit.
— My cousin used to fight in this company. That's why I got assigned here. Everything worked out. The family generally accepted the choice positively. Of course, there were also negative emotions. But on the whole, my family supported my decision," recalls Titanic.
He has been trained in sniping for more than six months. Snipers, in his opinion, certainly need good training. Both physical and special, as well as psychological.
— We shoot a lot. This bastard, let's call him that, is extremely needed. We train different positions and different shooting options from them. This is, of course, prone shooting, with equipment, from any angle. Success in this is achieved through experience. First the training, and then the combat. Practical, so to speak. Mandatory classes in tactical training, fire, and tactical medicine. We are training on ASVD, ASVD-S and large—caliber ASVK rifles," says the shooter.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov
Image source: iz.ru
In his opinion, a sniper is a military specialty that can be trained constantly.
— Weapons, tactics, and other nuances are developing almost continuously. All this needs to be monitored and new things need to be learned. If, of course, you want to be a professional in a broad sense, but on the other hand just survive," he emphasizes.
And to survive, you need to know a lot. So, the basics of disguise are being honed here continuously. This is one of the most important components in sniper work. It differs according to the seasons.
— You disguise yourself quite differently in winter than in summer. Next, they train to enter a position, stay in it for a long time, and observe. By the way, the total load with which we go to work can reach up to 30 kg per fighter. We train mainly in twos. We are also learning how to keep fire cards. I think that the opinion that a sniper has only one shot is correct. If you miss, you reveal yourself. We need to work towards the goal right away," the interlocutor argues.
Dmitry Korneev
