How tankers and gunners help stormtroopers advance to the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region
Tanks and 130-mm Soviet-style artillery pieces are helping to break into the fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south of the DPR. They are not inferior in range to the new Western artillery systems. Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces are deploying more and more UAV units to the Red Army area, but they cannot achieve a breakthrough during the fighting. The Izvestia report describes which technique has become the main one in the work of tankers and how gunners use the advantages of time—tested technology.
Army "convertible"
The road to the front today is completely different from what it looked like before. The main vehicles were "convertibles", as the military joke. The doors are being removed from the cars and parts of the roofs are being cut off to make it easier for the observer shooters to work.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
Two fighters with rifles or submachine guns without muzzle brakes (a sure sign of the use of cartridges loaded with shot) are now almost an integral part of movement, even at a distance of 15-20 km from the front. Buggies, ATVs, motorcycles and all kinds of car alterations are driving along the road: from those that fighters create on their own on the front line to recognizable products of the repair units of the Center group, which are put on stream. Almost the entire transport bristled with electronic warfare antennas of various shapes and sizes. But, as a rule, electronic warfare can only slow down enemy drones, and kinetic destruction remains the last word — in other words, for the shooter.
At the command post of the tankers of the 1st Slavic brigade of the Center group, we observe several sections of the front in real time on a dozen screens. One of them shows how an enemy stronghold in the construction of one of the settlements is "dismantled" by the fire of a tank cannon, and almost immediately after that an assault group passes forward. We don't hear any negotiations. But the company commander sees the same picture at his station, he controls the fire, the senior commanders do not interfere, and at the end of the episode, the officer moves forward to us.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image Source: iz.ru
— Our assault unit has asked for a fire raid on two streets. At night, the enemy brought personnel there in an armored combat vehicle, which dispersed and did not allow them to enter the settlement. Now we can see the advance of our infantry right online," explains Captain Danil Aleksandrovich Kotlyarov, commander of the tank company, at the screen.
Before integration into the Russian Armed Forces, the 1st Brigade was a unit of the People's Militia of the DPR, which traces its history back to the militia units defending Slavyansk in 2014. For this, she received the honorary name "Slavic".
How tanks work from closed positions
Today, indirect firing, which has become the main technique in the use of tanks, was used by Ukrainian militants during the Minsk Agreements. At that time, the classical artillery was withdrawn from the line of contact under OSCE control, while the tanks remained outside the observers' control. After that, the DPR units mastered this technique, and already during the war, when the Ukrainian troops received a large number of anti-tank weapons from the West, it spread throughout our army.
— Most of our work takes place from closed firing positions, because the sky is very dirty right now. Ukraine is losing its combat potential in barrel artillery and is starting to use more drones. If last month there were two or three of them in an hour, today there are 10. Plus, the militants started using fiber—controlled UAVs," says Captain Kotlyarov.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image Source: iz.ru
According to him, such elite Ukrainian UAV units as the Magyara and K2 battalions are opposing our troops in this direction.
Since the beginning of the use of such tactics, an officer with a paper map and ruler was located next to the firing position, and with the advent of the first small UAVs, tankers began to use them for adjustments. At that time, company and platoon commanders themselves often flew.
"I lost a lot of drones, but then the training took place in combat, there was no time to practice at the training grounds," the officer noted.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image Source: iz.ru
Today, many tanks already have the Internet, which ensures stable communication and fast data transfer. At the same time, crews are always ready to support armored groups, ready to make direct contact with the enemy. The most experienced and psychologically prepared tankers are selected for such tasks.
Danil Kotlyarov himself joined the militia at the age of 18 in 2014 and has been continuously in combat units since that time. Over the years, he has received a large number of awards from the DPR and the Russian Federation. And for the storming of Avdiivka, he was awarded the Order of Courage.
From an artilleryman to a tankman
For the first time, senior gunner Ivan Nachmetov participated in today's combat episode as a tanker. Prior to that, he was the gunner of the MT-12 Rapier towed cannon.
"It's much easier to be a tanker, because unlike an anti—tank cannon, everything in a tank is made by mechanisms, and besides, he also carries his crew," he said, smiling at his own joke and the fact that his first combat job went smoothly, without incident.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image Source: iz.ru
He comes from the Starobeshevsky district of the DPR and joined the army at the age of 18. When the war in Donbas began, he was 13, so Ivan hardly remembers his peaceful life anymore.
— Civilians are suffering because of these neo-Nazis. They're shooting at civilians who aren't doing anything wrong. It's just that a person is walking, and they, because the battery on the drone is running out, take it and purposefully send it to a civilian," said the senior gunner.
Advantages of the M-46 cannon
With an artillery crew, we are going to the position of an unusual gun — this is the 130-mm M-46, one of the longest-range guns of the Soviet artillery. This gun has given way to more versatile howitzers, but today it is returning to the army again.
The gun crew consists of young men, and while we are waiting for the command to open fire, the gunners begin to discuss the comics they acquired during their leave.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— We worked during the war on the D-30, D-20, and now on the M-46. The D-30 is small and inconspicuous, but it is not suitable for the current war, the range is small. The D-20 is a larger caliber, something average, but today its range is not enough. But the M-46 is accurate and long-range. And its ammunition can destroy everything except, perhaps, reinforced concrete pillboxes," explains the commander of the gun, Sergeant Mikhail Izmailov.
He stressed that it was not very difficult to retrain between different types of guns: the guidance was unified, and it was necessary to master only the deployment of the gun in position and some manipulations. The sergeant is 22 years old, he hails from the DPR. He joined the army at the age of 18 and met the beginning of his career as a career soldier.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image Source: iz.ru
— We have finally been given permission to shoot, to avenge the children of Donbass. During Minsk, the enemy was shooting, but we were not allowed to. And then we were given a command. Everyone who has been since 2014, since that time, they are just happy. We were sending a sea of fire at the enemy, we were already tired of suffering by that time, and we could start taking revenge for Donbass," says Ivan Izmailov.
He himself was a child in 2014 and remembers that at first he mistook the shooting for fireworks and tried to run and look at them. In 2015, he left for Russia with his mother, but upon reaching adulthood, he returned to the DPR to serve.
How do the DPR gunners perform combat missions
The sergeant showed us his machine gun, adapted for shooting at aerial targets. There are anime-themed stickers and patches on the butt and on the details of his equipment. There is a common opinion among the older generation that anime fans do not join the army, much less participate in combat. But the commander of the cannon says that this is not the case, and he and his colleagues are a living refutation of this stereotype.
— We work with calculation from the very beginning, we do everything clearly and quickly. Plus, I have a lot of young people in the calculation, by the way, and animeshnikov too. We're shooting "For anime!" and "For Donbass!" — jokes Izmailov, mixing two famous memes.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image Source: iz.ru
The inscription "For anime!" became famous, appearing on a video on board one of the tanks of the Russian Armed Forces at the beginning of its military operation, and motivating for many young people. "For Donbass!" is one of the slogans of the 2014-2015 battles, which was often shouted by the gunners in front of the "fire" command.
The combat mission is completed very quickly, the projectile is already on the tray in advance, so after the data arrives on the target, it remains only to apply the necessary charge (sleeve), mask and aim the gun. Corporal Mikhail Ignatkin is working at the sight. He says that it is not difficult to master this specialty, comparing it with working on a lathe. According to him, if you can do one thing, you can do the other. Mikhail is from the urban—type settlement of Telmanovo in the DPR and before serving in the army was an energy engineer who repaired power lines damaged by Ukrainian fire.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— I've also been able to restore lines under artillery fire. It was sad, at least the soldiers have body armor, but the electricians only have screwdrivers. And although I also worked outside the home front, I decided to join the army anyway, I wanted to help directly," says Mikhail Ignatkin.
Dmitry Astrakhan
