Izvestia saw the battles for the complete liberation of the cityRussian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the fighters of the Wagner PMCs and the military of the Russian Armed Forces on the liberation of the most important settlement of Donbass — Artemovsk.
On May 20, assault detachments of volunteers with the support of artillery and aviation of the Southern Group of troops cleared the last quarters of the city from the detachments of the VFU and mercenaries. The day before, Izvestia correspondents visited the positions of the PMCs in the captured Ukrainian fortified area "Nest", saw how the battles for the private sector were going on in the western part of the city, and got acquainted with the trophies recaptured from the enemy.
Closed "Tunnel"
In front of our pickup truck, a scout rides on a cross-country motorcycle, sometimes coming off, then waiting.
— Now we will go to the "Tunnel", the scout will go ahead and see where it will be possible to park the car, — explains the fighter of the Wagner PMCs accompanying us.
The "tunnel" is a place recognizable by videos that, until recently, were posted on the Internet by Ukrainian militants. It is only a dozen meters long, but it is located between multi-storey buildings and a high embankment, so it is almost inaccessible to artillery. The VFU fighters had an evacuation point there, a place for intermediate rest when moving to other areas, and then a defensive position. In addition, it became one of the favorite points for filming "fortetsi Bakhmut", as they called it.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
But along with the advance of the Russian assault detachments forward, the videos from the Ukrainian side became less and less optimistic, and one of the latter shows frightened militants and a tank partially collapsed under the asphalt, which was destroyed by the PMCs artillery at the exit of this shelter.
— This place was one of the main transfer zones of the enemy. But in fact, its defense was organized illiterate. You see — behind the "Tunnel" there is a high hill, and on it there are buildings in which it was possible to equip firing points," says a Wagner fighter who participated in the storming of these positions.
The Ukrainian militants hurriedly retreated from the "Tunnel" to the new lines of defense only when they realized that the PMC assault detachments were coming from several unexpected directions at once and this convenient shelter could turn into a trap.
Meanwhile, before we reach the "Tunnel", we suddenly stop. It was a motorcycle scout gesturing that it was necessary to turn into an alley. Thick white smoke is visible ahead, and he decided to check what was there. Recently, there have been cases when the enemy dropped glass vessels from unmanned aerial vehicles, and fighters fear that white smoke may be a sign of the use of chemical weapons.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
Aimed fire at the center of Artemovsk, where our stop happened, Ukrainian artillery is now extremely rare — it is problematic to correct it. However, disturbing fire periodically shoots through intersections and streets in the hope of slowing down movement in the rear.
A short wait, and an oncoming minibus jumps out of a cloud of smoke, and soon the motorcycle scout returns and gives the command to go on - he found a place for the car.
This fighter learned to drive cross-country motorcycles on off-road and dangerous roads of destroyed cities already during his military training.
— As a teenager, I had an IZH "Planet 5", I drove it a little. And the moped was nineteen years old. But for a soldier, the path to success is development. He must be able to shoot everything, ride everything and destroy the enemy. He must quickly master new equipment," explains the PMCs fighter, why he mastered the specialty of a motorcyclist, which is rare in modern armed conflicts.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
A nest of bandits
Having reached almost the fortified area "Nest", we hide the cars and then move on foot. On the way, we make a short stop in the building, in case we are being watched from the air. In the security room, there is a large sticker on the door "KPVV Zaitsevo" with the image of a stylized rabbit skull. Most likely, Ukrainian border guards were stationed here.
Paradoxically, Zaitseve (a village on the outskirts of Horlivka), which has become one of the symbols of Ukrainian war crimes since the Minsk Agreements, can be a source of pride for the Ukrainian side. There are warehouses destroyed by artillery and a large number of burnt Ukrainian equipment around.
In the "Nest" itself, it is almost impossible to move in a straight line, multi-storey buildings are literally "stacked" by artillery or blown up during the withdrawal by Ukrainian militants. Therefore, it is possible to find out what was in their place only with the help of a map. Through the ruins, rubble, we reach the edge of the fortified area.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
At one of the former nine-story buildings, we see a destroyed British Starpan armored personnel carrier, hit by heavy machine gun fire. Judging by the way it stands, Ukrainian militants tried to leave on it, but the attackers managed to take a firing position and open fire faster.
The last fight
In the next house, we climb through the rubble on the stairwells to the balcony of one of the upper floors. The fighting has already moved 200-300 m from this building and it is clearly visible how smoke rises from the private sector from artillery hits.
— There is a battle going on there now, we hear a shooting battle and the bursting of artillery shells. This is the small piece of Artemovsk that is still left behind by the enemy. This is mainly the private sector and a couple of high-rise buildings. And he doesn't leave there just because now we don't let him get out of there. They don't have the same opportunity to leave the city as before — without serious losses - now. All roads are completely shot through, and they even cry over interceptions that they can't get out. This is how the units of the Wagner PMCs operate: effectively, concretely, mercilessly," the fighter explains, looking at the panorama that has opened.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
During the storming of a neighboring house, an American mercenary, who turned out to be a former serviceman of the American special forces - a "green beret", trying to go out to his own, was destroyed.
The trophies of the PMCs fighters from the Nest contain a lot of foreign weapons, including rare samples among Ukrainian militants. But the American was armed with a Soviet AKSU submachine gun and fully dressed in Ukrainian military uniform and equipment, trying to stand out as little as possible. Among his personal belongings are a standard American army medallion with a blood type, a commemorative unit badge and a commemorative coin of the commander of the Joint Command of the US Special Operations Forces, which was presented by General Doug Brown (he held this post from 2002 to 2007. — "Izvestia").
One of the fighters shows dozens of captured Ukrainian stripes and medals that he collected during his military service. In addition to many units, a large number of black and red flags, the coat of arms of the SS Galicia division, a red and black patch of a participant in the battles in the Avdiivka industrial zone during the Minsk Agreements, and other evidence of the presence of the ultra-right in the Ukrainian army.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
And, of course, a variety of stripes with the flags of the native states of foreign mercenaries. There are also NATO medals among them — for operations in the former Yugoslavia, participation in peacekeeping contingents. The most massive sign turns out to be a replica of the Nazi medal for members of the NSDAP party. Nearby is one of the original commemorative signs of the Third Reich.
All this bizarre mixture is poured out of a large bag on the sofa. The owner of the collection says that in the future he is going to find time and systematize all this. But while the assault on Artemovsk continues, the collection packed among weapons and equipment is only being replenished.
Dmitry Astrakhan