Russian troops, together with units of the People's Militia of the DPR, continue to conduct artillery fire on the positions of the national battalions. When striking, both rocket and barrel artillery are used. It is not easy to see how the "Gods of War" work. But the correspondents of "RG" managed to visit the closed positions.
In the early morning, accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, we leave for the locations of the gunners. We are not told about specific places in advance and are asked not to show a panorama of positions.
Multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) "Grad" are firing at the national battalions, which have strengthened at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. They continue to hold some civilians as human shields and shell the vicinity of the plant and the positions of Russian troops and the DPR.
- Usually, after artillery shelling, additional reconnaissance of the area is carried out. It turns out how much further enemy fire activity is possible on this section of the contact line," says the commander of the vehicle with the call sign "First". - If the activity has significantly decreased, then armored vehicles are usually put forward to the positions, which deals additional blows to the firing points that manifest themselves. Before that, the battery commander calculates the coordinates and gives the machine settings. The gunner enters the data and the machine is ready for use. One rocket for installation weighs from 80 to 95 kilograms. There are rockets for propaganda claims, in which the conditions of surrender and a call for a cease-fire are written. The fuse is installed in such a way that the rocket explodes above the ground and the leaflets are scattered over a certain area.
We walk to the positions of 152-mm howitzers "Msta-B". The fire from the position is short-term, but regular. The blow is applied at any movement. But we still need to evaluate the results of combat work. The fire is adjusted from the so-called "secret" - it is even closer to the firing sector. Scouts and a spotter went there. According to their reports, the coordinates are adjusted, which requires a certain minimum of knowledge in topography and mathematics. As the "Gods of War" joke, the cannon does not divide the infantry into special forces or some other landing force. It divides the infantry into covered, open and covered.
The work of the gunners is very laborious. Each shell has a weight of 40 kilograms and has a separate sleeve with bags of gunpowder. First, the loader feeds a projectile into the bolt, and then sends a cartridge case with gunpowder. Their shots make the ground tremble under their feet.
After watching how the Russian military and the people's militia work, we decide to see how their missiles and shells iron the Azovstal plant.
Among the broken houses and shops, we see how the fighters of the People's Militia of the DPR are resting. Young, but already experienced military men are warming themselves near the campfire. When they see the journalists, they wave their hands and invite us to warm up.
Among them is a resident of this area. He told us terrible things about the actions of neo-Nazis, about the "Azov people" (the organization is banned in Russia), who used civilians as a human shield. Neo-Nazis bombed the homes of civilians to blame the Russians. The enemy was striking Mariupol even before Russian soldiers and units of the DPR entered the city.
Meanwhile, the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation made a statement on humanitarian response.
Humanitarian corridors from the territory of the Azovstal plant are being opened for the safe exit of civilians on May 5, 6 and 7. During the opening of the corridor, the Armed Forces of Russia and the DPR unilaterally cease any hostilities, units are withdrawn to a safe distance. Humanitarian corridors will be open from 8.00 to 18.00. Civilians will be given to choose the direction of evacuation on their own.
