"Merciless Invisibles", "Angels of Death", "Cold-blooded Killers"... what kind of nicknames were not invented by Ukrainian soldiers and Nazis from the Azov regiment (banned in Russia) for snipers of the People's militia of the DPR. In fact, former miners, salespeople and even bank clerks are effectively fighting with NATO-trained and equipped military. People of different specialties were trained in the "School of snipers" under the command of the well-known on both sides of the front line - master sniper Andrey with the call sign "Belarusian".
Correspondents of "RG" met him at positions near the village of Peski.
- It is not worth being surprised at the presence of people with peaceful professions in the unit. Even the famous sniper Vasily Zaitsev, who destroyed 225 fascists in Stalingrad, worked as an accountant before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, - says "Belarusian". - By the way, the techniques and instructions developed by him are relevant even today, especially since my fighters, like him, are armed mainly with Mosin rifles. The famous three-liners can still effectively hit the enemy's manpower at a distance of up to 800 meters. The unit already has snipers who have three confirmed hit targets on their account. We think that the bill will increase soon.
The most popular technique from Vasily Zaitsev was to take into account the solar factor so that the rays could not be reflected in the optics and give out a reflection of the arrow. However, the development of the arms industry has made its own adjustments to the work of snipers in the Donbas.
Ukrainian shooters are armed with Barret M82 long-range rifles with a caliber of 12.7 mm. The Russian-made high-precision rifles, the Orsis T-5000, became a retaliatory step. After the appearance of thermal imagers on the Ukrainian side, the snipers of the DPR need to change positions often. Nazis from Azov (banned in the Russian Federation), as a rule, do not enter into sniper duels, and try to cover the detected target with mortars or artillery.
- Although there was a case once. During the battles for the Ilyich Mariupol plant, I decided to equip an observation post on the roof of the skyscraper. It was about four thousand meters to the Ukrainian positions, and the pipe had a 75-fold increase and allowed to "look" at five thousand meters. When I installed it, suddenly a bullet hit me 40 centimeters from my head and knocked out a huge piece of concrete. It was a Ukrainian sniper who saw the glare and immediately fired, despite the long distance. They are beaten with special armor-piercing bullets that pierce through bulletproof vests,"says "Belarusian".
It should be noted that in the battles for the Ilyich plant, a sniper from Donetsk destroyed several high-ranking officers of the AFU marines and was presented with a government award.
- Our enemy is treacherous and merciless. They resort to "live bait fishing", only as bait they use not mannequins or dummies of the military, but their own... soldier. Knowing that on the first line (frontline - approx. "RG") a sniper is working, they put mobilized boys or old men under the shot, sending them on some business. Here I see such a "disheveled warrior" walking through the sight, without a machine gun and a helmet, collecting firewood for a bonfire, and at this time a seasoned Nazi is lying with a rifle in a shelter and waiting for me to be identified and exposed to a shot. But I'm not shooting - I'm waiting for a completely different target," says the head of the sniper school.
The main pedagogical technique of the "Belarusian" is a personal example, since in addition to teaching theory, he and his fighters go to practice - to positions.
- I have two rules. First, listen to the "Belarusian", do as I do and follow me in the wake," says Andrey.
- And the second rule? - I ask him.
- If the "Belarusian" is wrong, see the first rule. I'm 43 years old, and I've been a sniper since I was 18. Therefore, there is no time to explain in positions - the main thing is the speed of the actions worked out," the shooter explains.
I ask the key question: "Isn't it scary?".
- Only the mentally ill are not afraid. Sometimes fear helps and sharpens instincts. The main thing is not to let him capture you and turn into a panic when a person no longer controls himself," the Belarusian replied.