Battles for Donetsk airport chronology. Battle for Donetsk Airport

All events are described from the point of view of a direct participant entirely without edits, as it came. All conclusions and arguments that will be presented below are based on personal communication with direct participants in the events described. Some evidence contradicted each other in details and diverged in numbers, but nevertheless made it possible to reconstruct a holistic overall picture of a number of tragic militia operations on the territory of the DPR. Some things, for certain reasons, will not be called by their proper names. Knowledgeable people will understand.

The surviving militia fighters had little time to take photos and videos in combat conditions, so the accompanying illustrative material was borrowed from open sources. Initially, the goal was to investigate the operation to storm the Donetsk airport on May 26, 2014, which resulted in the death of more than 50 militiamen (not counting the losses of the relief detachments), most of whom were volunteers from the Russian Federation. This fact has already received official recognition by the leadership of the DPR, so there is no point in hiding it, including the presence of Russian volunteers.
This operation can be considered the most disastrous of all those carried out by the DPR militia, both in terms of the results achieved and the losses incurred. The next battle, the leadership and planning of which was carried out by Khodakovsky, was the battle near the Marinovka checkpoint, as a result of which the militia suffered losses in manpower and equipment and did not complete the assigned task. The abundance of commanders and leaders in Donetsk and the lack of a single headquarters have a negative impact on the organization of the defense of Donetsk itself. The city is completely unprepared for all-round defense. What is being done is completely insufficient to hold Donetsk in the event of a full-scale assault with the massive use of armored vehicles, which are now being actively reactivated in Kharkov at the Malyshev plant, artillery and aviation.
Russian volunteers.
The militia formations of the South-East include a significant number of volunteers from the Russian Federation, fighting there according to their personal convictions. Many of them have combat experience in Afghanistan, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and two Chechen campaigns. The detachment, which suffered heavy losses during the breakthrough from the Donetsk airport, began to gather in mid-May 2014 in the Rostov region. The collection of volunteers took place through social media and personal contacts; on-site assistance was provided by one of the public organizations. Its Rostov branch was headed by a certain person, let's call him “Sergei Ivanovich”. Soon 3 groups were formed, the senior ones of which were commanders with the call signs “Granit”, “North” and “Old”. By the decision of “Sergei Ivanovich”, “Iskra” was appointed commander of the detachment (he died during the breakthrough). “Iskra” was a former riot police officer and did not have sufficient combat, let alone command, experience, or the intellectual level to manage a detachment. He was prone to making rash decisions, which was already revealed in a combat situation. To 3 groups in the Rostov region. Volunteers from Crimea and Chechnya were added. The total number of the combined detachment was 120 people. The command of the detachment, at the insistence of “Sergei Ivanovich”, was carried out by former officer Boris Sysenko, who in a critical situation removed himself from command of the detachment. On the night of May 24-25, the combined detachment moved towards Donetsk in 5 KAMAZ vehicles. The detachment was supposed to join the Vostok battalion and come under the command of Khodakovsky.

Due to the lack of proper counterintelligence cover, the detachment already included at least one enemy intelligence officer on Russian territory. It turned out to be, as it turned out later, a fighter with the call sign “Schumacher”. This means that even on Russian territory the enemy seeks to conduct active intelligence work, introducing spies into groups of volunteers. This man came along with the Crimean militias; he himself, in his words, comes from the Nikolaev region. He said that he did not serve in the military anywhere, but is on the territory of Ukraine under criminal investigation by order of the current Ukrainian government. I applied for the position of driver. Subsequently, in his backpack, which was accidentally opened (after the battle for the airport on May 26), the following characteristic items were found: 1) a walkie-talkie for communication with aviation, 2) an ICOM scanner, 3) an AK magazine, stuffed with tracers (one of the methods “illuminate” the target in battle - with tracers), 4) a 32GB flash drive, on which in electronic format there were special instructions on conducting sabotage operations behind enemy lines, including instructions on adjusting artillery and aviation fire. The presence of instructions and reference materials suggests that the enemy is conducting mass training of agents in connection with the developments in Novorossiya. A professional intelligence officer would not have had such clearly compromising documents with him. At the same time, in conditions civil war creating a network of spies and informants is much easier. "Schumacher", according to our information, was not detained and interrogated. Details are below. Perhaps he is still one of the “fighters” of the DPR militia and continues to conduct intelligence activities in the interests of the SBU. Close to “Schumacher” was a militiaman with the call sign “Odessa”, who may also be an agent of the SBU. Compared to the chloropicrin in DOGA toilets, which sickened militia members and employees, the activities of such spies cost human lives.
The first strange things.
The group was met by Khodakovsky's people. On the territory of Ukraine, one of the KAMAZ trucks, which was entirely loaded with ammunition and weapons (from the warehouses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces), “suddenly” could not crawl up the mountain. 20 minutes. KAMAZ desperately pushed, delaying the movement of the detachment. After which it was abandoned so as not to interfere with the advance to its destination. We don’t know where KAMAZ itself and its cargo went. The militia were informed that it never climbed the mountain, so it was blown up along with its contents in order to avoid capture by the Ukrainian military. Neither the inevitable strong explosion nor the bright night flash was heard or seen. Most likely, the weapons and ammunition were stolen and sold, since the demand for this business in the Southeast is now very high. On May 25, the arriving militia detachment took part in an impromptu parade at a rally in front of the DOGA building, where it was medially included in the Vostok battalion. Formally, they were not part of Vostok, but obeyed the orders of Khodakovsky and Sysenko. The latter was called “General” by the soldiers; in the past, he most likely served as a senior officer before retiring.
The operation to “capture” the Donetsk airport.
The operation to seize the Donetsk airport was initially a crime because it contradicted the fundamentals of tactical operations. Its organization and planning was carried out by Khodakovsky, who declaratively prioritized the existence of certain informal agreements with representatives of the SBU and the command of a unit of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment (Kirovograd) guarding the airport. He tried his best to convince B. Sysenko and the group commanders that these “agreements” existed. On the evening of May 25, a group of scouts advanced to Airport area Donetsk. “Granit” and “Stary”, on the basis of agreements reached by Khodakovsky, met with the SBU officer who headed the SSB international airport. The latter informed them of the situation in the airport area and showed them a diagram of the new terminal. Upon arrival at the headquarters, “Granit” and “Stary” went to a meeting, which was attended by Khodakovsky, Sysenko and other officers. This group of people, while planning an operation to seize a complex infrastructure facility, drank alcoholic beverages. The report of the group commanders who carried out reconnaissance of the area was not heard to the end. Their arguments that observation and reconnaissance of an object before its capture should last at least 3 days in order to compile a complete picture of the situation at the airport and in its environs were not heard. The scouts were ordered to leave the meeting. At the same time, the group commanders were given only a diagram of the building of the new airport terminal; they did not have a general diagram of the airport, plans for other buildings, or a diagram of the underground communications of the new terminal, in which the detachment soon found itself in a fire trap. The planning of the operation was based on dubious information, the validity of which Khodakovsky tried to convince the commanders. Firstly, he tried to convince everyone that the Kirovograd special forces, located in the area of ​​the airport, due to certain “agreements” reached, would not open fire on the militias. Making the success of an operation dependent on agreements with the enemy is a sign of either betrayal or dementia. Secondly, by order of Khodakovsky, the groups that moved to the airport area did not take with them the MANPADS that were available. As he would later say in an interview with RIA-Novosti, “the militias had MANPADS. But no one could have imagined that the Ukrainian army would dare to launch an air strike on the airport, on the reconstruction of which so much money was spent in 2012,” so he ordered the MANPADS with him do not take. http://ria.ru/interview/20140604/1010528204.html
In conditions of military operations for an airport, control of the runway and airspace around the airport is important, but not the airport terminal itself. The enemy will be able to freely land reinforcements in the form of troops from both helicopters and transport aircraft. Without air defense systems (at least MANPADS), it is impossible to carry out an operation to capture an operating airport. At the same time, the seizure of the terminal, which was carried out on May 26, 2014, could only have a vaguely understandable psychological effect. The actions of the militia in Lugansk showed that it is effective to create a no-fly zone over the airfield using light air defense systems, such as MANPADS and ZU-23, which are effective when planes and helicopters take off and land. The militias had with them at the Donetsk airport only 1 dummy MANPADS. The operation began in the absence of full reconnaissance of the situation and with total misinformation on the part of its organizer.
Around 2.00 On May 26, Khodakovsky gave the order to prepare to move part of the detachment to seize the airport. In his words, the main task of the detachment will be to “pose in front of journalists’ cameras,” since a 100% agreement was reached with the Kirovograd residents (3rd Special Forces Regiment) not to fire at each other.
Around 3.00 detachment of approximately 80 people. moved to the airport to complete the assigned task. The fighters partially occupied the building of the new airport terminal. The occupation of the airport terminal building took place without clashes.
Around 7.00 Reinforcements moved to the terminal, which included, among other things, volunteers from Chechnya.
Around 10.00 Khodakovsky completed negotiations with the command of the Kirovohrad special forces and, together with the fighters of the former Donetsk Alpha, left the airport. Direct command was then exercised by Sysenko.
After Khodakovsky’s departure, taking into account the reinforcements that arrived at 07:00, the number of militias occupying the airport was about 120 people. The further actions of the Kirovograd special forces were very different from the “agreements” that were communicated by Khodakovsky to the militia personnel. Ukrainian special forces positions were located in the old airport terminal building and in its surroundings. Without hiding and slowly, the Kirovograd residents began to equip firing positions to fire at the terminal occupied by the militia. We brought up mortars, established positions for the AGS-17 “Plamya”, and dispersed the snipers. Soon, PMC fighters were landed on the airport grounds and took up positions in the control tower and the surrounding area of ​​the airport.
Around 11.00 the enemy opened fire on the militias who occupied the airport. The air strike was carried out by Mi-24 helicopters and Su-25 attack aircraft, using NURS and automatic cannons. PMC snipers opened fire with sniper weapons. In fact, assigned to the groups to lead the operation, Sysenko withdrew from command after realizing what had happened, sending the soldier to a duty-free store to buy alcohol. While the detachment was fighting, he was drinking alcohol, not having the necessary moral and psychological characteristics to organize defense. Instead of the easy capture promised by Khodakovsky, he led the detachment into a trap. Subsequently, the actual leadership of the detachments was carried out by group commanders, who acted for some time at their own discretion. Kirovograd special forces also opened fire with mortars, AGS-17, machine guns and sniper weapons. Return fire was organized from equipped firing points. For this purpose, ATMs were even torn out and stacked in stacks to protect them from bullets and shrapnel. Then this became the basis for accusing the militia of looting, although the airport had been cleared by the Ukrainian military the day before. Some of the fighters, not knowing that the enemy would soon launch an air strike on the terminal, took up positions on the roof, placed firing points there, and brought up the AGS-17.


"Gypsy" with AGS and "Mir" on the roof. "Gypsy" will soon receive a slight wound to the head as a result of an air strike on the terminal, but will remain in service. He will die in one of the KAMAZ vehicles during a breakthrough. “Mir” will die during the breakthrough, his body will lie under sniper fire for 3 days before the militia can take it away.


When Ukrainian aviation began to attack them, the fighters began to retreat from the roof. The materials used in the construction of the airport, when hit by NURS, shells and mines, gave huge number additional damaging elements and provided very poor cover. The roof was strewn with gravel, which also acted as destructive elements when hit by shells. The first losses came from aircraft fire on the militias who had taken positions on the roof. The Chechens took the longest positions, trying to hide behind a smoke screen. This measure did not turn out to be very effective. Soon the detachment's losses amounted to 2,200 and several 300, 1,200 and almost all of the 300 were from the Chechen detachment. Some of the existing electronically controlled doors were blocked, although the power supply to the terminal was not interrupted. As a result, the withdrawal was carried out by creating an “artificial exit”. If everyone could come out at once, 300x could be less. After part of the squad left the roof, 200s and 300s remained there. It took a long time to get the 300x out due to heavy sniper fire coming from the control tower. Everyone was pulled out later under heavy fire only on the 3rd attempt. Aviation and artillery fire was very well adjusted. Through the channel of the Ukrainian radio that was given as a “gift”, negotiations between one of the spotters and the mortar gunners were intercepted.




The distance from the new terminal to the control tower, which dominates in height above all other buildings, was 960 m. Despite the considerable distance, the sniper fire was very accurate. It was fired from a sniper weapon with a caliber of at least 12.7 mm (M-82 Barrett or similar rifles). To do this, the dense fire of PMC snipers had to be suppressed with something. Of the heavy weapons, the detachment had only 1 82mm mortar and 1 AGS-17 “Plamya”, which was lowered from the roof. Mines attached to the mortar did not have fuses, so they turned the much-needed means of fire support into a pile of iron. The militia had to work on the control tower from AGS-17. The maximum firing range of an easel grenade launcher is 1700m, but the aiming range is much less. The fire on the tower had to be adjusted for a long time from the 2nd floor of the terminal until the first hits, which weakened the sniper fire. After that, they were able to take 300x from the roof. At the same time, the Kirovograd residents were verbally ready to provide a corridor for the evacuation of the wounded. PMC snipers fired at both the militias and the Kirovograd special forces. Perhaps this was due to poor coordination between the opponents, possibly due to agreements reached on the evacuation of 300x. As a result, the deputy commander of the Kirovograd soldiers actually gave the order to open fire from the ZU-23-2 at the control room, from where the snipers were working. One way or another, many militias were wounded by fire from Kirovograd. By this point in time, Donetsk already knew about the failure of the operation. An operation was hastily prepared to release the detachment that had occupied the airport. About 500 people took part in it. The main problem remained the lack of coordination and unified command. The battles in the vicinity of the airport on May 26 were carried out by: Khodakovsky's Vostok military base and a detachment of the former Donetsk Alpha, Boroday's fighters, Zdrilyuk's detachment, Pushilin's detachment, Oplot. These units also suffered significant losses from sniper fire and possibly from friendly fire in conditions of poor coordination. Snipers worked on almost all approaches to the airport: in the area of ​​the METRO store (2 mercenaries from the Baltic states were destroyed), from the side of SPARTAK (the sniper was working from a construction crane), from the side of the cemetery and runway, from one of the 9-story buildings on Stratonavtov Street. What followed were openly provocative actions. Iskra received an order via mobile phone ( from someone) go for a breakthrough, since the airport is surrounded by Ukrainian military. Don’t wait for the night and go out in small groups, but right now, before the “ring” is closed, load onto KAMAZ trucks and go out into the city, taking 2x 200x and numerous 300x. They will be provided with a corridor from the Donetsk side. In fact, there was a tight ring of encirclement only around the new terminal. On the territory of the airport, Kirovograd residents continued to fire at the militia, and there were PMC snipers in the vicinity. There were no significant enemy troops that tightly surrounded the airport. The militia were able to dive into only 2 KAMAZ trucks; access to the other 2 was tightly blocked by sniper fire. Therefore, KAMAZ trucks were loaded to the brim with people. Only the cover group remained at the airport. She will retreat later along the greenery and will not suffer casualties.
Around 18.30 2 KAMAZ trucks made a breakout from the airport. Having received information that they were surrounded, the KAMAZ trucks drove at full speed, the soldiers fired at everything that moved and even rested. The initiator of this exit tactic was Iskra. Perhaps this played a tragic role when entering the city. The cover group advanced on foot through the greenery near 19.15-19.20 . She suffered no casualties and returned safely to Donetsk, which is additional evidence that there was no tight encirclement around the airport. When the groups made a “breakthrough”, Sysenko remained in the cover group. He died of a heart attack on the eve of the group's retreat from the airport. Before breaking into the greenery, the group had to overcome 300m under fire from snipers and machine guns.
Shooting of KAMAZ vehicles with militias.
At the entrance to Donetsk from the airport at that time there were 80+ Vostok fighters concentrated in an ambush. from the 1st and 2nd bases of the battalion (established name of the units) and other parts of the militia. They received information that fighters of the National Guard of Ukraine were coming from the airport to break into Donetsk. The order was given to fire to kill. 2 KAMAZ trucks with militias leaving the airport were destroyed by fighters from the Vostok battalion with heavy fire from small arms and grenade launchers. There were no Ukrainian special forces in the ambush; there was an order to open fire on their own soldiers.


The first KAMAZ was hit and overturned on the Kievsky village near the Magnolia store. There were more survivors in it than in the 2nd. The 2nd KAMAZ was hit on Stratonavtov Street in the area of ​​the Putilovsky Bridge. When the KAMAZ was riddled and smashed, and the movement around them stopped, the Vostok fighters crawled closer and saw St. George’s ribbons on the corpses. The driver of the 2nd KAMAZ received numerous wounds and blew himself up with a grenade. The 2nd explosion was carried out by one of the wounded militiamen who remained conscious (he had fought in Afghanistan in the past). They thought that the fire was fired by Ukrainian soldiers. Of the 46 fighters traveling in two KAMAZ vehicles, 35 survived. A few days after the treacherous operation, volunteers from Chechnya left the DPR. A significant part of the Vostok battalion, realizing the consequences of the tragic operation, deserted in the coming days.
Departure.
After arriving at the base, the fighters who survived the breakout from the airport discovered strange facts. The personal property and also the remaining weapons of the victims were stolen by the time they returned. AGS-17, traveling in one of the blown up KAMAZ trucks, soon surfaced in Pushilin’s detachment. The realization that they had been betrayed and sent by the command in the person of Khodakovsky to slaughter forced them to disperse throughout the city. Further more. “Schumacher” and “Odessa” (spies) came out to attack several fighters who were camping on leave on the outskirts of Donetsk. They checked on the fighters in a friendly manner and urgently (ostensibly on orders) left for the location of the Vostok battalion. After some time, the militia's attention was attracted by children's crying and women's cries of "Don't shoot!" from the yard of a neighboring house. Jumping out into the bushes, they saw armed men in camouflage surrounding a neighboring house. The arriving Sonderkommando most likely confused the buildings in the dark. Most likely, their task was to clean up the surviving participants in the massacre. After this, the surviving soldiers had only one option - to leave Donetsk. We decided to break through to Bezler in Gorlovka. Some of the wounded who survived the massacre at the airport were able to be transported to Gorlovka in order to avoid “accidents.” New interesting details were also revealed there. It turns out that Bezler himself prepared the operation to seize the Donetsk airport, developed it for 5 days, and conducted reconnaissance. The enemy became aware of this; most likely, Bezler also has Ukrainian agents working for him. Instead of an assault, they decided to make an “assault” on Khodakovsky, at the same time sending a special forces detachment of volunteers. People with experience in conducting special operations were thrown like infantry to treacherous execution. “Mole” with the call sign “Schumacher” was identified by chance from Bezler. The militias who retreated to Gorlovka from Donetsk were able to organize the transportation of their belongings. By chance, as often happens, the transporters caught the Schumacher backpack. When they opened it, they discovered very interesting contents (see at the beginning). Further more - demands were received to return the backpack and its contents. There was a refusal.
Betrayal.
Why should what happened during the departure of the militia detachment from the Donetsk airport be considered precisely as a betrayal? In conditions of poor organization and chaos, losses from friendly fire in war are inevitable. The fact that this was precisely a betrayal, in addition to many other signs, is evidenced by the subsequent coverage of events. Look at this photo.


The worst thing about it is not the pile of militias riddled with bullets and shrapnel, the worst thing is the lenses of professional cameras on the right. A video of a crowd of journalists, including Ukrainian and Western media, being launched into a Donetsk morgue to film corpses. For what? For the report. There is a strict rule - to hide your losses, especially - never show them in all the bloody details. First of all, it undermines the morale of its soldiers and the civilian population, who count on protection from the military. Here, the footage of the mutilated bodies of the militias, which has spread all over the media, is deliberately and massively replicated. This not only allows you to report to the customer, but indeed for many it becomes a signal to think about whether it is worth fighting for the DPR.
We do not undertake to judge whether it is a coincidence or not, but on May 20, the “DPR leadership” (in itself a strong abstraction) intends to nationalize the enterprises of Akhmetov (Khodakovsky’s supervisor). http://youtu.be/8JhpQucgeT0 But by June these plans were publicly abandoned http://ria.ru/world/20140531/1010121645.html It is possible that this comes from the realization that the DPR power bloc, if not completely, it is partially controlled by Akhmetov. The same can be said about the political bloc.
Marinovka.
Additional evidence of this is the battle for the Marinovka checkpoint. June 5, 2014. There, planning and leadership are again carried out by Khodakovsky. The legend is the same: the border guards are demoralized and want to surrender. The operation is top-secret, but it involves journalists from the Western newspaper Sunday Times, who have been with the militia detachment for 3 days, of course, having mobile communications and Internet access. Subsequently, this operation will become the basis for one of best reports Border services of Ukraine throughout the ATO. The fighters arrived at the position to attack the border guards. They begin to unload from armored personnel carriers and vehicles. The first mines immediately arrive, exactly in the area where the convoy stops. The experienced gaze of one of the soldiers fixes sighting pegs for mortars at the landing site. Instead of border guards willing to surrender, there is a dense wall of fire. The flanks are covered by units of the Vostok and Oplot battalions. Very soon the cover on the flanks was blown away like the wind. The militia entered into a difficult battle with the enemy located in pre-prepared firing positions. An air strike was carried out from the air. Not one of the 4 MANPADS fired... As a result, we had to make a breakthrough in the direction of the Russian Federation. Sunday Times journalist Michael Franchetti, accompanying the detachment, describes with gusto how a detachment of 80 militiamen freely enters the territory of the Russian Federation, which is nothing more than another official confirmation of the Russian Federation’s support for terrorists operating in the SE. Photo report of the Ukrainian border service about the victorious battle:



Then very strange things happen. Khodakovsky is among the militias who crossed over to Russian territory as a result of the battle. He stays there for about 4 days. After which he calmly returns to Donetsk. By this point in time, our special services should have already had complete information about what happened at the Donetsk airport, incl. about Khodakovsky’s role in these events. This person should not only have been interrogated and released, but also detained as a traitor. Why this didn't happen, we don't know.
Border.
After the treacherous operation to seize the Donetsk airport, several wounded militiamen from the Russian Federation are in the DPR. Their evacuation does not require any official recognition or action. But, nevertheless, it is not carried out. The wounded are being transported on the initiative of Russian militias who survived the battle for the airport. At the border with the Russian Federation, transport with wounded people is held for 5 hours. Among them are people with severed lower limbs; one of the wounded in the arm developed gangrene; many require painkillers. There is a total interrogation and verification. Although it is clear that even Ukrainian spies without legs will not run away anywhere. Transportation of the wounded is done at the expense of the militia, transportation of the dead - at the expense of relatives. “Sergei Ivanovich,” who went on a drinking binge in Rostov, does not provide the slightest assistance in organizing the placement of the wounded in medical institutions. The slightly wounded inevitably appear at the volunteer base, thereby unmasking its location. “Sergei Ivanovich” drives them away from there. Their placement in hospitals and support fall on the shoulders of the surviving militias, who have retreated to the Russian Federation for rest and recovery.
Conclusions.
Why do the leadership of Russian militia units arriving in Novorossiya initially turn on traitors like Khodakovsky? Why are their provision and support so poorly organized? There are several working answers to these questions.
Version one. "Fifth column".
The Russian leadership really unofficially supports the DPR and LPR, not limiting itself to working in the information space. At the same time, responsible employees of the involved “public organizations” and “ charitable foundations"either they are conducting subversive activities because they were recruited/bought by the enemy, or they are completely incompetent from a professional point of view. There is nothing unusual in this version; the columns were sold in both the 1st and 2nd Chechen campaigns. In this sense, the approach" Sergei Ivanovich," Sysenko’s actions and the fact of Khodakovsky’s return to Donetsk after being detained by Russian border guards are evidence in favor of this version. If it is true, immediate personnel decisions should follow, but, first of all, the organization of high-quality counterintelligence cover for everything that is being done Russia in Novorossiya. The situation when units are led by traitors, and SBU agents are infiltrated into groups on the territory of the Russian Federation, is unacceptable.
Version two. Cleaning up passionaries.
According to this version, the Russian leadership really drew “conclusions” from the Kyiv Maidan. From this point of view, the war in Donbass is used not as a means of creating a buffer republic of Novorossiya on the fragments of the former Ukraine, but not least as a way to dispose of an explosive mass inside the Russian Federation. Despite the growth of Putin’s rating, the level of corruption within the country remains extremely high, and the growth in the standard of living of the main segments of the population is extremely low. In order to avoid Maidan within the Russian Federation in a situation of worsening socio-economic crisis, it is better to immediately eliminate the most ardent groups of the population who are ready to take up arms and go to the barricades at the first call. Improvement of the Russian “elite” for last years wore declarative nature and was not accompanied radical redistribution economic leverage within the country. It is extremely doubtful that the main part of the Russian “elite” (far not Russian, as everyone knows very well), supports the idea of ​​​​gathering Russian lands, which Strelkov advocates. For these people, in best case scenario, we can only talk about collecting new sales markets, which is by no means equal to the first. Since the war-ravaged DPR and LPR may turn out to be not so much economic assets as a social burden, dealing with this issue may seem inappropriate to many. But if at the same time there is a chance to get rid of potential dissenters who are ready to reformat the existing political landscape by force, then they will have corridors to Donbass and the Khodakovskys as commanders.
What to do?
In a situation of uncertainty and lack of accurate information about the decisions taken by the Russian leadership, it is nevertheless necessary to formulate a certain position on the Ukrainian issue. Incl. for those people who have certain military experience and intend to take part in hostilities in Novorossiya. Regardless of the moods of the Russian “elite,” the future of the Russian Federation is now being decided in Ukraine. Very soon, it may also be resolved on the country’s Central Asian borders. If you do not have experience of participating in hostilities, or at least serving in the army, then it is better to abandon the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe trip. Unprepared romantics are the first to die. Try to acquire basic military skills, fortunately, now there is such an opportunity without the need to serve in the army, even if it involves some expenses. They will still be useful to you for protecting the Motherland in near future. If you have experience and motivation, check the transition channel that is offered to you by employees of “public organizations” and “charitable foundations”. No “Sergei Ivanovichs”, Khodakovskys and “Vostoks”. You must know exactly where and under whose command you will fall, if you do not want to return home as a broth in zinc, which, however, is not excluded in any case. The most order and decency in the LPR militia units, in the DPR Strelkov is a reliable commander, but the situation around Slavyansk, which is in an operational environment, may change in the coming days. It is better to advance not individually, but in organized and pre-coordinated groups. Discuss in advance with the “helpers” the conditions for leaving for rest and treatment. Consider getting life insurance and leaving a will. With your loved ones, consider creating a mini-fund to help the families of the dead and support the wounded; the group’s losses will be at least 300.
How to stop betrayal?
On this moment losses as a result of betrayal and actions in Novorossiya by the agents of the SBU, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Western intelligence services are comparable to the losses of the militia in open hostilities and as a result of air and artillery strikes by Ukrainian troops. Without a real, rather than media, organization of counterintelligence activities, the situation will only get worse. At the same time, the inclusion in its composition of former SBU employees who quickly “changed their shoes” to the DPR and LPR format will inevitably be associated with new failures. Directly in the database area, the enemy actively uses agents, incl. of women, young people, children. It is unlikely that without the help of the Russian Federation, the LPR and DPR will be able to organize full-fledged counterintelligence work. The same applies to the activities of the special services of the Russian Federation, if their task is to really support the LPR and DPR, and not to send Russian militias to slaughter.
Continuation and update here

On the night of January 21 to January 22, 2015, after the terminals and flight control tower were completely destroyed, the defense of Donetsk airport by Ukrainian soldiers ended. Today we remember how the battle for the DAP took place, which was followed by millions.

First shot. May 26, 2014

4 days after the official start of the ATO, DPR militants for the first time raise the flag over the building of the airport named after. S. Prokofiev in Donetsk. Despite the fact that many airlines subsequently refused to fly to Donetsk, until the end of May, with short interruptions, DAP still receives planes.

May 25, 2014 becomes the last day when a civilian plane lands on the runway: on that day, militants from the Vostok battalion enter the airport.

The next day, one of the most successful special operations of Ukrainian forces in the entire history of the Russian-Ukrainian war begins. Soldiers of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment from Kropyvnytskyi (Kirovograd) are landed near the DAP, and with the support of attack aircraft, they capture the airport in a few hours.

According to the journalist Yuri Butusov, at 11 a.m., a Kropyvnytskyi special forces sniper saw one of the Chechen militants pointing an Igla MANPADS at one of the Ukrainian fighters flying over the new terminal. The fighter, having received permission from the command, makes an accurate shot, which becomes the first in the battle for the airport.

After this, the Ukrainian military successfully held the airport throughout the summer. In August, Russian-terrorist formations launched an active offensive throughout the anti-terrorist operation zone. The militants get a large number of Russian "Grads" and begin the first attacks on the airport.

"Cyborgs". September, 2014

On September 10, 2014, militants attacked the fortifications of Ukrainian fighters in the DAP with T-72 tanks and 240-mm Tulip mortars. The battle continues until late at night. The soldiers defending the DAP recapture 3 tanks and 2 armored personnel carriers from the terrorists.

After this, attacks on Ukrainian positions continued almost continuously throughout September. The terrorists are bringing up their “elite” units: “Kalmius”, “Sparta”, “Vostok”, constantly announcing that the airport will soon be under the control of the so-called. "DPR".

The heaviest attacks come from the southeast: terrorists place mortars, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns on the roofs of nearby high-rise buildings, they fire at the control room from anti-tank guns, and special forces from the Russian Federation try to attack. Ukrainian fighters repulse the attacks and remain at the airport. A legend is born about “cyborgs” - that’s what the militants themselves call them.

Damn, I don’t know who is protecting the Donetsk airport, but we haven’t been able to knock them out for three months. We tried to storm them, they broke in on us, and we retreated. They began to cover with hail - they dive into the underground sewer collectors... I, he says, don’t know who is sitting there, but these are not people - these are cyborgs! – Sergey Sergeev, Facebook

The nickname “cyborgs” quickly became popular - a week later the President of Ukraine called the DAP defenders this way in his speech Petro Poroshenko.

Donetsk airport is becoming the hottest spot in the ATO zone: militants almost continuously attack the old and new terminals. On September 30, the leaders of the criminals first announced the alleged seizure of DAP, then they spoke about it again on October 3 and 5.

In order to clear the airport, by and large, we need 20 hours, but then this will be a violation of peace agreements,” the leader of the so-called. "DPR" Alexander Zakharchenko.

Despite loud statements, during a month of brutal fighting the terrorists were able to advance only 500 meters; Above the control tower there is still the flag of Ukraine.

Over the next months, the enemy attacks without ceasing, regardless of whether a truce is in effect or a ceasefire agreement has been signed: not a day goes by without shelling or an attempted assault.

October 30 Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov comes to occupied Donetsk to meet "Givi" And "Motorola". In the company of terrorists, the so-called. “DPR” he demonstratively, “on camera”, fires at the positions of the Ukrainian military at the airport from a large-caliber machine gun. After a criminal case was opened against Porechenkov in Ukraine, the actor stated that he fired blanks.

Final defense, December, 2014 - January, 2015

In December, Ukrainian fighters blow up the old terminal on orders from the command and retreat to the new one. One of the heaviest battles for DAP, on December 1, lasts 36 hours: Russian special forces try to storm the airport, but suffer heavy losses and retreat. “Cyborgs” lost 2 fighters in almost two days, 16 were wounded.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the 16th special forces brigade of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, the 200th special forces brigade of the Southern Military District (Rostov), ​​a motorized rifle battalion and a tank company of the 4th separate guards Kantemirovskaya tank brigade, battalion 22 took part in the attacks on Donetsk airport 1st separate brigade of the GRU General Staff of the Russian Federation, assault company of the 106th Guards Airborne Division.

During the period of December 3-4, the defenders of the airport destroyed, according to various sources, from 27 to 32 soldiers of the Vympel special forces of the FSB of Russia - the people’s deputy reported this Andrey Teteruk, volunteer Konstantin Forester and head of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital Evgeniy Nayshtetik. Moreover, over the previous 33 years of its existence, this unit officially lost 29 fighters.

On December 8, both terminals were practically destroyed, but Ukrainian fighters continued to defend themselves. Despite heavy fire, the “cyborgs” hang the Ukrainian flag on the radio tower.

Towards the end of December, militants attack the airport less frequently, mostly shelling it with mortars and small arms and not going into open battle. People's Deputy Dmitry Tymchuk states that the main forces of terrorists have retreated from the Ukrainian borders, leaving a small cover.

At the beginning of January 2015, the enemy became active again: on the night of January 8, the positions of the ATO forces were fired at 8 times, on January 10 - 14 times.

The media report that the rotation of “cyborgs” passes through so-called checkpoints. "DPR", in which the vehicles of the Ukrainian military are searched by militants. After a wave of indignation among Ukrainians, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak calls this situation a misunderstanding.

“The situation at Donetsk airport is quite difficult, and every entry of our units is accompanied by significant risks. Therefore, there was an agreement so that personnel entering the airport territory would be allowed to pass through the DPR checkpoint without hindrance. That misunderstanding that we all saw... After this, the necessary measures were taken. The last rotation, which took place a day and a half ago, took place without what we saw on television,” Stepan Poltorak, Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

The situation at the Donetsk airport is deteriorating: it is possible to evacuate the wounded and transport food and ammunition only at night - during the day the territory is under fire from the enemy.

On the morning of January 13, the militants put forward an ultimatum: the “cyborgs” must leave the airport by 17:00 or they will be destroyed. The Ukrainian military refuses and asks the command for reinforcements and artillery support.

On January 15, the attack on Ukrainian positions begins again: militants spend the entire day trying to push the fighters back from the new terminal, firing at it with mortars and Grad missiles. Reinforcements of Ukrainian paratroopers fight their way into the DAP, the “cyborgs” counterattack the terrorists and knock them out of the 2nd floor of the new terminal. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, two soldiers were killed in the battle for the airport on January 15. Volunteers talk about 6 more wounded, 2 of which are serious.

On January 16, DAP defenders reported that part of the terminal’s floors had been captured by pro-Russian militants who were releasing unknown gas. The fighting begins around 6 am and ends only the next day, around 3 am on January 17th.

On January 17, after a relative calm, a fierce battle begins at the Donetsk airport: the positions of the “cyborgs” are intensively fired from Grad missiles. Towards evening, help makes its way to them: they manage to take out 3 dead and 20 wounded.

The next morning, the Ukrainian military counterattacks and retakes all the territory marked along the demarcation line. After several hours of calm, the fighting continues, the ATO headquarters declares that “cyborgs” are trying to drive the terrorists out of the airport.

“At the Donetsk airport, units of the Armed Forces are taking active steps to clear the airport territory, which until now was controlled by militants. The enemy is suffering losses in manpower and equipment."

At night, volunteers and military personnel pick up the wounded and bring in reinforcements. The losses for January 18 were not announced at the ATO headquarters.

On January 19, militants blow up the floors between the floors of the terminal, leaving the defenders in a small square between the two floors. They're building barricades there Anatoly "Spartan" Svirid and machine gunner Igor "Sodium" Branovitsky They collect and melt ice, obtaining water for the seriously wounded. At 10 a.m. the gas attack began: the terrorists first blew smoke to determine the direction of the wind, then an unknown gas that spasms the respiratory tract. The fighters breathe through wet wipes, but this does not help much - the gas corrodes the eyes and causes vomiting.

After some time of respite, the assault begins: from the direction of the old cyborg terminal, tanks are fired at with direct fire.

Since lunchtime on January 19, attacks have been going on almost continuously. On the morning of January 20, after a short lull, militants blew up the terminal for the second time, mining the floors above and below the position of the Ukrainian military.

Those who were lying on the edge remained on top, and those who were in the center - next to the “three hundredths” and “two hundredths” - all went under the rubble. We got whoever we could. There are nine people alive, - Yuri Sova, “cyborg”, 80th brigade.

On the night of the 20th to the 21st there was heavy fog in the DAP area. This allows those wounded who can move to get to the Ukrainian positions in Piski. Together with them, the intelligence chief of the 81st airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine leaves the blockade Andrey "Rakhman" Grechanov together with the scout "Zinoviy". They take an armored personnel carrier from their own, several soldiers for help, and try to return to the DAP to take out the seriously wounded and killed. A grenade launcher hits the car. “Rahman,” after a severe concussion and with a burnt face, still evacuates 15 fighters from the airport.

By this time, the “cyborgs” have practically nothing with which to fight: only a few working machine guns and some cartridges remain. Therefore, Ukrainian fighters begin negotiations with the militants about hospitalization of the wounded. So some of the airport defenders are captured.

In the first hours, the prisoners are brutally beaten, after which the interrogation begins. The 39-year-old suffers the most Igor Branovitsky- He was a machine gunner. After interrogation, he is returned to his cell with multiple fractures and thrown onto the floor next to the rest of the prisoners. “Cyborg” was cynically shot by a Motorola militant, who.

During the 242 days of defense of Donetsk airport, Ukrainian fighters lost more than a hundred people. More than 500 soldiers were wounded, and 24 “cyborgs” were captured. At least the approximate number of deaths from militants and Russian military personnel is unknown.

During the presentation of Sergei Loiko’s book “Airport” in Kharkov, the audience gave the “cyborgs” a standing ovation.

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Probably, no battle of the war in Donbass has caused as much emotion and pain among participants and observers as the fight for Donetsk airport. The siege of the airport by the Donbass militia lasted for more than eight months. Slavyansk stood and fell, Novorossiya survived the crazy summer of 2014, a truce was signed and violated, and the airport continued to remain an elusive target of attack. Its long retention showed how dangerous an enemy the Ukrainian army can really be under favorable conditions and adequate leadership, and the victory over the “cyborgs” became a truly hard-won success for the militia, indicating a serious qualitative growth of the troops of Novorossiya. At the airport, the Ukrainian army was represented by good strong units; on the other hand, it was ultimately the most combat-ready militia units that achieved success. In the war for Donbass there were larger, more dynamic battles, but perhaps none were more brutal and uncompromising.

Brand new. Airport before the war

Donetsk Prokofiev International Airport became one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Ukraine in the early 10s. On the eve of the European Football Championship, the air harbor of the capital of Donbass was radically modernized. A new runway was built, and a new spacious passenger terminal was erected. “We expect that in 2015 Donetsk airport will be able to serve about four million people a year,” said Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Boris Kolesnikov at the opening of the new terminal. The new runway was capable of accommodating any type of cargo or passenger aircraft. The fifty-two-meter control tower proudly towered over Donetsk. The rebuild cost nearly $900 million, but the builders had every reason to be proud of their success: it was truly an impressive air port. Hardly anyone could have imagined that what was being built on the outskirts of Donetsk was not a valuable infrastructure facility, but a future battlefield and last refuge hundreds of people.

Donetsk Prokofiev Airport before the war. 1/2

To understand the meaning of what is happening, you need to at least in general terms imagine the location of the airport and its main buildings in space. So. The airport itself is located close to Donetsk on its northern outskirts. To the west of the airport is the village of Peski (about 4 km to the terminals). To the north there is a small radar station, further beyond the fields and a chain of ponds is the village of Opytnoye (almost 3 km to the terminals), and even further to the north is Avdeevka. The village of Spartak is located in the northeast near the airport. Not far from it is an air defense unit. To the east of the take-off is the Putilovskaya interchange, the intersection of the highway and the railway.

What does the airport itself look like? Its main area is occupied by a four-kilometer long runway, stretching from west to east. To the south of it, close to the eastern end of the runway, are both terminals. To the west is a new one, much larger than the old one, located a little to the east, but in the zone of direct visibility and reach. To the southwest of the new terminal is a monastery with an adjacent cemetery. To the southeast of the old terminal is the Polet hotel, and further south is the Metro supermarket and auto center. A little to the east there are a lot of various outbuildings (hangars, boiler room, etc.) To the south of this entire complex there are garages and private sector. Finally, to the west of the terminals is the fire station and control tower. Usually in photographs it appears to be located very close to the new terminal, but this is an illusion caused by its cyclopean size; in fact, the distance between them is about eight hundred meters. Here's what's important here. Big sizes the towers and the new terminal provide excellent visibility, especially since the surrounding area is not rich in large buildings, so these positions are excellent for adjusting gun fire. The second important point for our story: the airport buildings turned out to be very strong and survived despite the long, merciless artillery shelling. The same control tower eventually fell only after a long, targeted shooting, and its ruins could still provide protection for the remnants of the garrison for some time. Under these buildings there is a fairly developed network of underground communications: parking lots, basements, communications of military facilities. Finally, an important circumstance is this factor: to the north of the terminals and the tower there is a huge, flat expanse of the runway, which gives an excellent overview from the airport buildings themselves, but creates serious problems for those who need to quickly and without losses pass through this sector. In general, when they talk about battles for an airport, they usually mean a space of about 1.5 by 0.6 km, including the terminals and adjacent buildings plus a somewhat separate control tower.

The price of frivolity. May assault

In Donetsk, as in other cities in eastern Ukraine, the movement in favor of joining Russia intensified in the spring. On April 6, pro-Russian protesters seized the Donetsk administration after a rally and issued an ultimatum to the authorities to hold a referendum on the future of the region. The next day, in Donetsk, the Donetsk People's Republic, DPR, was proclaimed, and in Kyiv... O. President of Ukraine Alexander Turchynov announced an anti-terrorist operation. Gradually, protesters occupied various objects in Donetsk: local television, the prosecutor's office, and police stations. At the same time, the same processes were taking place throughout the Donbass. From local residents and Russian volunteers, armed formations were created on the fly. The level of coordination of the various detachments was low: in fact, each protest leader himself created a detachment to the best of his own understanding and leadership qualities. One of the most numerous detachments was the Vostok battalion, led by the former commander of the Donetsk Alpha group A. Khodakovsky. It was these people who became the main characters of the first clash for the airport. The bulk of the “Easterns” were local, but the number of Russian volunteers was significant. Although propaganda loved to present these people as mercenaries who came “to make easy money by killing Ukrainians,” the only thing that Khodakovsky could really give them then were machine guns (at that time - from captured Ukrainian warehouses), free food and a promise to transport the body to Rostov in case of death.

Battalion "Vostok" in Donetsk. Then everyone was full of hopes for an easy and bloodless resolution of the crisis.

It cannot be said that the Ukrainian side did not take countermeasures at all. In particular, in mid-April, what later turned out to be a strong and correct move was made: a large detachment of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment from Kirovograd arrived at the airport. The 3rd Regiment was (and is now) the elite of the Ukrainian armed forces, and fifteen hundred special forces could make storming the airport quite a difficult task. Special forces took up positions in the old terminal and control tower.

The detachment directly involved in the operation to seize the airport consisted of approximately 120 people, and moved to Donetsk on Kamaz trucks from a training camp on the night of May 24-25. It was subsequently alleged that one of the fighters was an SBU agent. It is difficult to verify this information, especially since the suspect subsequently died, but what happened next could have happened without any spy.

The detachment that arrived in Donetsk was supposed to participate in the capture of the city airport. It was intended in this way to prohibit the delivery of reinforcements to Donetsk by air. At the forefront of planning were certain agreements reached personally by Khodakovsky with the military defending the airport. In addition, an SBU officer was recruited who was responsible for airport security, who was supposed to let the fighters into the new terminal. At the same time, the reconnaissance was carried out hastily, the commanders of the assault groups did not have maps and generally had a vague idea of ​​the area of ​​​​operation. The mood of the Vostok commanders was the most sarcastic. The rebels did not even take MANPADS with them before moving to the airport. This is actually the most amazing moment. The airport was supposed to be captured precisely as an infrastructure facility, and for this, control of the airspace was necessary. As is easy to remember, the militia stopped the transfer of Ukrainian Armed Forces reinforcements to the Lugansk airport without capturing the airport itself at all, shooting down a military transporter with a MANPADS while landing. In general, the meaning of capturing the terminal itself is not entirely clear, in light of the presence of much more important points nearby (control tower, part of the air defense, radar). They also did not think about possible resistance: a quick surrender and disarmament of the garrison was expected.

As a result, on May 26, a detachment of over a hundred people easily and quickly entered the new airport terminal, settling in the building and on the roof. The passengers were quickly evacuated and took up a perimeter defense.

Around eleven o'clock it became clear that the terminal had become a trap. Snipers began shooting at the militias holed up in the building from the direction of the control tower, from the old terminal, and most importantly, aviation began to operate. According to a militia member who took part in the battle, the terminal was attacked by four helicopters and two planes. This was a powerful argument, but we note that with a more responsible attitude towards planning the operation, things could have taken a different turn. In fact, the militia found themselves under fire from the ground and from the air, firing small arms at attack helicopters. The rebels even used stacked ATMs as an improvised means of defense. However, the advantage in numbers and especially firepower was not on their side.

May assault

The terminal was not completely blocked, so it was possible to retreat from there. The militia still had undamaged cars. True, only two of the four trucks were used; the approaches to the others were blocked by snipers. In the evening, the commander of the detachment occupying the terminal ordered to break through in vehicles, shooting at everything that showed signs of life.

Our KamAZ takes off from the terminal, and we start shooting in all directions, into the air, there is open space all around, we drove along the highway 4-5 kilometers from the airport towards the city, the distance between the cars is about five hundred to six hundred meters. Two KamAZ trucks are driving and firing non-stop. A terrible sight! True, I stopped shooting, I saw that there was no one around. When we began to enter the city, we suddenly saw our first KamAZ standing on the road. I didn't understand why he stopped. Cars are driving by, even people are walking, this is already the outskirts of Donetsk. We flew by at crazy speed, I didn’t have time to see someone else was shooting. Five hundred meters later, our car was hit by a grenade launcher, the shell hit under the driver’s cabin, and we overturned. As it turned out, we were lucky; we flew off the board and were hurt, but without any fractures. The car that was hit first was finished off with machine guns in crossfire, snipers shot at the guys, and no less than three dozen people died. They also started firing at us from somewhere, I threw down the machine gun, grabbed one wounded guy, he was from Crimea, dragged him on me, and ran stupidly through the courtyards. Our paramedic joined me, he had a machine gun, I took the weapon and shot more around, on the roofs, and ran further with this wounded man.

Driving in densely packed trucks was very costly for the Donbass militia

“I can’t say that Khodakovsky is a traitor, but he is incompetent as a military leader,” one of the assault group commanders later snapped.

In total, about fifty militiamen died as a result of this catastrophic action. As the icing on this disgusting cake, journalists were allowed into the Donetsk city morgue, exposing the bodies of the fighters to desecration in front of everyone. Already killed, these people became the target of the wit of the crowd of “patriots of Ukraine” for the next six months.

After this massacre, some of the soldiers left the territory of the unrecognized republics, many went to fight in Gorlovka with Bezler. No one yet knew that the disaster of May 26 was only the beginning of a painful struggle.

Endless summer

At the beginning of summer, the militia detachments were still few in number, weakly united and armed. Under such conditions it would be difficult to count on taking the airport by brute force. In addition, it was necessary to solve many problems simultaneously in all directions at once. It was necessary to establish contact with Russia, contain Ukrainian troops near Slavyansk, disarm the military units of the Zbroiny forces and others government agencies Ukraine (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Prosecutor's Office, SBU, etc.), remaining in the territory controlled by Novorossiya, in short, it was not possible to allocate a sufficiently large detachment to storm the airport. The militias did not even have the strength to completely block the airport. Moreover, at that time the front line did not yet pass through the outskirts of Donetsk, and Yanukovych’s pride could no longer be used as an airport. Thus, the airport was not the primary target. However, the rebel commanders could not completely ignore such a thorn stuck in the depths of the DPR. The militia near the airport periodically exchanged fire with Ukrainian troops to the best of their ability and fired at transport aircraft, dropping cargo for the airport garrison.

July battles on the approaches.

In July, after the Slavs broke through to Donetsk, operations at the airport became more active, but basically their content was limited to the statement: “they attacked, they were not successful.” The problem of the militia, as usual, was the lack of strength. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were advancing along the entire front, so the attacks on the airport were never strong enough. Sporadic attacks from mortars, automatic cannons and small arms all the more looked more like a clearing of conscience than a real attempt to seize the airport. On the other hand, adventures like the spring assault were not repeated, and in case of Ukrainian aviation appearing on the scene, the militias covered themselves with MANPADS or even self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. The airport gradually took on the now familiar appearance of a pile of shell-torn industrial ruins.

Meanwhile, the front line was approaching Donetsk. In the second half of July, the Ukrainian Armed Forces began to cut a full-fledged corridor to the airport from Tonenkoye (west of Avdeevka). The militia at that moment had to fight off the advancing Ukrainian groups with one hand, and with the other, to squeeze the Southern Cauldron that was brewing under Izvarino, and did not have the means or strength to cut this “umbilical cord.” Moreover, since the end of July, fighting has been going on, in fact, close to the city limits of Donetsk. On July 22, Strelkov announced the release of the air harbor by Ukrainian troops. At this stage, in addition to the special forces at the airport, airmobile units from the Ukrainian Armed Forces began to operate, and later people from the Right Sector and Dnepr-1 arrived.

The Ukrainians made full use of the tower to adjust artillery fire. As the artillery moved in, for the Ukrainians the airport became an observation post, a bridgehead on the approaches to Donetsk and a thorn under the heart of the DPR. Systematic shelling of the city, directed, in particular, from the airport, became a more serious disaster the further it went.

There are fights at the airport.

The end of August gave Novorossiya supporters hope. After the unexpected and spectacular success near Ilovaisk, there was a chance to quickly remove key threats, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces had not recovered from the shock and urgently patched up the holes that had formed in the front. At that time, the Ukrainian army was plunged into real chaos; a mass of large and small encirclements were scattered across the territory of Novorossiya.

After the May disaster, the militia went out on operations with anti-aircraft cover.

On the wave of success, the militia made a powerful, coordinated attempt to break into the airport, fortunately, the detachments released after Ilovaisk moved there. According to the correspondent, “ Komsomolskaya Pravda» D. Steshin, the airport was “turned inside out” by gunfire. At the beginning of September there was a battle already on the territory of the airport itself. To celebrate, they managed to report that the airport had been captured, but the hope turned out to be false: they managed to break into the territory of the air harbor, but did not take control. The enemy put up desperate resistance, and artillery continued to suppress attempts to clear the airport. The underground structures of the airport allowed the Ukrainian military themselves to sit out the shelling, not without losses, but without losing their combat effectiveness, fortunately, some of the shelters remained from Soviet times, when they were preparing for nuclear war, and new structures were also built initially to be strong, the same control tower theoretically should have withstood an airplane strike, and artillery fire only very slowly loosened it. The moment was acute, but in early September the attacks gradually faded away.

Why didn't you manage to take the airport? The main problems were still not resolved: Ukrainian artillery positions behind the airport continued to operate, and the airport itself, contrary to reports, was not cut off from supplies. Ukrainian troops had to take risks moving equipment along the runway, but even with some losses, they still delivered cargo to the airport. Moreover, the fact that the militia began receiving equipment from Voentorg in the summer does not mean that they had enough of it. It was not possible to win the fire duel against the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the airport. In such a situation, September arrived, and with it a truce. The truce remained a fiction.

Thundering truce

View of the airport from a drone, autumn. Large object on the right is the new terminal, the old one is a little closer. In the foreground is a destroyed Metro supermarket, and the control tower is visible in the distance to the right. On the left is Donetsk proper, on the right is a huge, flat expanse of runway. Behind the scenes is Avdeevka on the right, far ahead is Peski.

The four-and-a-half-month stage of the Donbass confrontation, which began after the signing of the Minsk agreements, became another example, typical of modern local conflicts, of a truce concluded on paper and not observed by anyone in reality. This strange state was best described by online publicist Andrei Soyustov: “War without end, truce without beginning.”

“Only a lazy or incorrigible optimist, of whom there are few left, does not swear by this truce,” wrote a resident of Donetsk. “Everyone understands perfectly well that it cannot last forever, that there will be an offensive, and even if there is not, there will be shelling. The withdrawal of heavy weapons by 30 or 40 kilometers will not solve anything, because heavy weapons cover this distance in half an hour. You will not set up checkpoints throughout the city and fields. It's all fiction. When they saw that our people were forced to take food and medicine to the airport, people were generally shocked. But when they saw the rotation of troops, especially when it turned out that they could carry one horn of cartridges with them, people generally stopped understanding what was happening.”

The airport remained the point where active operations continued constantly. According to the Minsk agreements, it was to be transferred to the militias. However, the Ukrainian side never began to implement this point of the agreement. The fighting continued.

Donetsk suffered most severely from shelling, including from the airport tower. Shelling of Donetsk on October 8. 1/2

At this stage, the militia focused on counter-battery combat against Ukrainian batteries deployed in Piski, shelling the forces located there that supported the airport garrison, and removing shavings from supply columns rushing to the airport. Every day there was, as one of the fighters put it, “an intense truce.” Both sides exchanged mortar charges and volleys of Grad rockets. Every day the militia lost two - three people killed and wounded in the “background”. Their counterparts had a similar problem: supply columns periodically suffered under fire. An unpleasant situation developed for both sides. The militias could not completely cut off the airport’s supply due to its size and suffered from fire from Avdiivka and Pisok, while the Ukrainians could not deliver cargo and people without the risk of becoming intimately familiar with a mine or Grad. The battle for the airport itself was described by one of the militia:

Ukry sit underground. Spotters and sometimes snipers and mortar men rise to the surface. Plus they monitor the surface through cameras. Ours, after a sparse artillery barrage (because there is a shortage of shells), move forward, they begin [to hit] them from Peski and Avdeevka with everything they can, they retreat. And so every day. Result: 1-3,200 and 10-20,300 daily. And everything would be completely bad, but then the Ukrainian command comes into action, which for some reason strives to have tanks and infantry fighting vehicles at the airport. Which it drives there through the territory that ours are shooting through, after which the remaining boxes rush around the takeoff until they are burned. Well, small teams of cool guys from both sides play Counter-Strike offline in the ruins of terminals with approximately equal scores. So until ours take Peski and Avdeevka (or at least suppress the Ukrainian artillery there), there will be no sense.

P.S. In the units storming the airport, there is a serious shortage of EVERYTHING, especially anti-tank weapons.

The comment about the “boxes” is indeed fair. In the immediate vicinity of the terminals, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and even Ukrainian Armed Forces tanks remained in abundance. Ultimately, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to withdraw the tanks from the terminals and leave the armored group only in Sands, from where it moved out when needed. On a flat field, armored vehicles inevitably suffered heavy losses. A Ukrainian journalist wrote about one such fight:

In the first half of the day, militants knocked out two tanks and two infantry fighting vehicles, as a result of which two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and several people were seriously injured.

In the afternoon, the militants managed to knock out two armored personnel carriers, and the crew members were definitely killed there.

It was deadly dangerous for armored vehicles to be on the runway, so the Ukrainian military

we tried to unload and cover the cars as soon as possible, or send them back... 1/2

It is from this period that the Ukrainian military defending the airport was called “cyborgs.” We owe this word to a popular genre: fake quotes in which one's enemies admire one's valor. Allegedly, a certain militia said that the airport was defended not by people, but by cyborgs. In principle, soldiers rarely give intimidating nicknames to their opponents, and almost never pretentious ones. However, Ukrainian society liked the bike, and the name, by and large, stuck.

In general, propaganda attempts to present what is happening as a painless beating of ideological opponents look like an outright stretch. On the one hand, the militia did not “fry dill”, but performed the most difficult and extremely dangerous combat work, losing people every day. Any assault would snatch a certain number of dead and wounded from the ranks of the attackers. The anecdotal enumeration by the Ukrainian side of the Russian special forces allegedly exterminated at the airport cannot obscure the fact that the losses were numerous and could reach several dozen killed and wounded per day - during bursts of activity. On the other hand, people talking about “disposing of quilted jackets” would hardly want to find themselves in an armored vehicle rushing towards the terminal, expecting a shell to hit the side every second. For example, on September 29, a militia tank scored a direct hit on an armored personnel carrier of the 79th Airborne Brigade, which was packed to capacity with people, killing and wounding 16 people at once (data from the Ukrainian side).

The fire, controlled from the airport, constantly covered just city blocks. The population gradually became satanic from the constant need to live under volleys of howitzers and MLRS. “I spoke with a priest recently when I baptized the daughter of a deceased militiaman. He took me aside and asked only one question: when will we destroy the people sitting at the airport? Do you understand that the priest asked me about this - when are we going to do anything?” — DPR leader A. Zakharchenko told the Russian Reporter journalist.

Despite the shelling, many people in Donetsk managed to lead lives close to normal. “We are walking around Donetsk, there are people with strollers, some shops are open, life, in general. They look at us like we’re ghosts,” said a resident of not far away Yasinovataya with surprise.

One of the most famous photographs of the war in Donbass, a control tower repeatedly hit by shells.

The militia did not have the opportunity to bring down the Ukrainian defense with one blow, especially since the flow of ammunition and equipment from Russia had largely dried up, but a ring was gradually tightening around the Ukrainian soldiers dug in inside. The lack of strength was not only a problem for the militia. On the other hand, Ukrainian commanders acted rather passively. All this allowed the militia to gradually oust the enemy from the airport buildings. They slowly but steadily covered the positions of the “cyborgs” from the flanks, occupying structures convenient for defense. In particular, the monastery (west of the terminals), the village of Spartak (on the opposite flank), and part of the technical buildings east of the terminals were occupied. The fire station west of the terminals was subsequently captured.

Motorcatchers in the battle for the airport. A detailed analysis of some of the details of the video is presented.

This advance made it increasingly difficult for Ukrainian troops to supply their men at the airport. A Ukrainian documentarian described the breakthrough of an armored personnel carrier with cargo into the new terminal:

We arrive at the airport late in the evening, it’s already dark, but the moon is shining, and I think: it’s bad that the camera doesn’t see like the human eye - the frames of broken terminal buildings without walls and glass, a runway without borders, glass, iron, concrete dust under with your feet... A few shots can convey the consequences of the war.

Quiet - there are separatists nearby - and tough teams: faster, faster, faster.

There is no need to rush, everyone does their job quickly and, if possible, quietly.

The driver and gunner throw bottles of water, bags and boxes out of the iron box of the armored personnel carrier; the soldiers carry them twenty meters into the depths of the dark terminal building and throw them on the concrete floor.

There is already a line of departing soldiers next to the armored personnel carrier; on command, they throw their backpacks on the armor and jump into the narrow doors of the vehicle.

The armored personnel carrier leaves. Silence.

In a quiet, dark terminal, soldiers sort boxes, crates and packages, illuminating themselves and each other with dim phone screens; it is impossible to light a flashlight - this is a ready target for the “separatist” grenade launcher.

Attempts to assault continued throughout October and November with varying degrees of success. The fighting at this time unfolded quite chaotically. On the “three-dimensional” battlefield, opponents were mixed. The militias used their most seasoned units in battle - Motorola's "Sparta" and "Somalia" under the command of Givi. Gradually, although extremely slowly, they cleared the airport buildings of the enemy. All methods were used to annoy the enemy. Sometimes the enemy was smoked out with smoke; in at least one case, motor-catchers pumped a large volume of kerosene into the basement held by the “service men” and set it on fire. Gradually, the Ukrainians lost ground. True, two circumstances did not contribute to optimism on the militia side of the front. Firstly, the main prizes remained in the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: the control tower and the new terminal. Secondly, the initially irregular nature of the militia groups often manifested itself. The fighting qualities of the groups turned out to be very uneven. While some units demonstrated high levels of morale and training, others could make woefully amateurish mistakes. Sometimes this led to great tragedies.

An example of such an unsuccessful battle was the events of November 14, when a militia platoon in the fire station suffered heavy losses. The fire station was initially captured by only two “Somali” men, who discovered that no one was guarding it. As a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces columns heading to the airport began to suffer serious losses from grenade launchers, anti-tank rifles and artillery fire. However, after the first successes, the Ilovaisk veterans were replaced by poorly trained Cossack newcomers who barely knew how to handle weapons. The tragedy unfolded when another caravan set off from Peski to the terminals, already knowing that rebels were on duty in the fire department. To get to the terminal, the Ukrainian column needed to destroy a strong point in the fire station. Having approached it at a distance of 150 meters, six tanks opened fire. The platoon did not even have mortars, since at night the crews voluntarily withdrew from their positions. The platoon consisted of poorly trained newcomers, and therefore fired without proper effectiveness. The platoon's standard anti-tank weapon (ATGM "Fagot", an outdated but reliable missile launcher) simply remained unused due to simple operational errors. The unfired young Cossacks, instead of taking refuge in the trenches prepared in advance and shown to them, began to rush about and were covered by tank shots in the fire department buildings. Seven militiamen died under fire.

Autumn battles.

No matter how unpleasant it is to admit, such heavy losses were not justified. The connection between “Somalia” and the “East”, as well as the connection between “Somalia” and its own command and artillery, was broken. Characteristically, the few Ilovaisk veterans present in the platoon all survived.

The circumstances of the death of a platoon in a fire department can plunge even a notorious optimist into despondency. Discord in the leadership, poor training, lack of communication and coordination are common for real African paramilitaries, but the war in Donbass dictated much higher demands on soldiers and officers. The Ukrainians coordinated well the actions of tanks, artillery and infantry and achieved serious results.

At that time, no one could have imagined that only a few weeks remained before the complete defeat of the Zbroynye Forces stronghold at the airport.

November. "Somali" in the fire station.

The advance of the militia at the airport was slow, but progress was gradually and visibly achieved. The Ukrainian military was forced out of the old terminal, hotel and adjacent buildings. The militias penetrated the new terminal, but were unable to gain a foothold. Ultimately, Ukrainian troops were forced to finally surrender the bulk of the outbuildings and the old terminal. Thus, the stronghold of the “ukrov” remained the skeleton of the control tower, the new terminal and a small post near the remains of the radar station. In practice, this meant that the militia managed to get close to the coveted communications of the garrison, albeit in a very narrow space. In addition, it was now extremely difficult for Ukrainian artillery to hit the militias without the risk of catching their own: the sides were too close, and if a miss flying into the city was acceptable from the point of view of the Ukrainian gunners, then bringing down your own “Grad” on your own was, of course, very bad idea.

The monastery is west of the terminals. Its occupation by militias put the airport's supply route through the runway in jeopardy.

Complete chaos on the battlefield led to the fact that no one had stable control over specific positions (minus the tower and part of the premises of the new terminal), but journalists after each local success carried the news that now the airport was definitely under control of militias/security forces. The problem is that each time the capture of the airport was awarded as the capture of specific buildings or even premises, and the situation could change literally in a matter of minutes.

The Ukrainian side was constantly terrorized by individual tanks, quickly moving to firing positions, firing at the tower and terminal, and immediately hiding in the maze of buildings. The artillery usually did not have time to cover these “partisans”.

A militia tank fires at the old terminal. Shooting into a narrow gap between buildings,
he disappeared a few seconds later, before the shells flew in response.

In mid-December an event occurred, the meaning and circumstances of which are still unclear. The Ukrainians carried out a change of units fighting at the airport directly through the militia positions with complete calm of the insurgents. During these movements, the famous meeting between Motorola and the commander of the battalion of Ukrainian paratroopers “Dome” took place. The opponents discussed several private issues, assuring each other of the desire for peace. In addition to making small talk, the Ukrainians took about fifty fighters from the airport and brought the same number in return, at the same time replenishing food supplies.

The meaning of what happened remained completely unclear. The version about sentimental feelings suddenly overwhelming the militia commanders can be safely discarded: Motorola and Givi spoke loudly, unambiguously and unprintably about their attitude towards the enemy. On the other side of the front line, they especially did not have warm feelings for the “vatniks and colorados.” The depth of tenderness felt by the adversaries for each other was revealed a month later, when one of the Ukrainian officers caught on camera in December was forced to chew his own chevron. The version that seems closer to reality is that Ukrainians were allowed through the checkpoints in exchange for no interference in restoring Donetsk’s civilian infrastructure: electricity and water supplies. The unofficial version of the background to these negotiations looks like this:

The point is this. Residents are intensively returning to Donetsk; now there are already about 700 thousand of them. The population needs to be fed, warmed, and supplied with water. There is a mine near one of the city's water intakes that is flooded due to lack of electricity. And there is a threat of untreated water entering the water intake if the water from the mine is not pumped out. The transformer substation (TS), which supplied the mine with electricity, was destroyed. Moreover, it is located on neutral territory. Several times there were attempts to establish power supply, but the Ukrainians covered the electricians. Actually, in order to prevent epidemics in the city and to establish a water supply, it was decided to come to an agreement with the Ukrainians that they would be allowed to rotate the l/s and supply it with food (but not weapons and ammunition), and they would not touch the TP at the water intake and mines. "Hostage situation"

The version is difficult to confirm or refute, but at first glance it looks quite reasonable.

Meanwhile, from the fact of rotation through militia checkpoints, an ironclad conclusion followed: the Ukrainians simply had no other way to calmly deliver a mass of people and large cargo to the terminal and to the tower. The fate of the garrison hung by a thin thread, and the militia had something to cut it off with.

The enemies had the opportunity to look each other in the eyes. Motorola and an officer of the Ukrainian landing force "Dome".
Lieutenant Colonel Kuzminykh, who was caught between them, soon gained fame under very dramatic circumstances.

Ripe fruit. Final assault on the airport

In mid-January 2015, the intensity of hostilities in the Donbass as a whole increased sharply. There are too many cities in Novorossiya within the range of Ukrainian artillery fire, so any shelling paralyzes the infrastructure and leads to large casualties. In Donetsk and Gorlovka, the front passes, essentially, along the outskirts, Lugansk and Makeevka are in the zone affected by heavy artillery, and that’s just big cities with hundreds of thousands of people. On the other hand, the army of Novorossiya prepared its own offensive and could inflict a series of tangible blows on the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the Donetsk airport, the operation was planned and prepared in the best possible way. The militia created a positional advantage for themselves in advance by besieging the new terminal. The soldiers of “Sparta”, “Somalia” and “Vostok” had time to train, fine-tune interactions and prepare for battle inside a large building.

If some battles in the airport area were lost by the rebels due to laxity and inattention to coordination of actions, then the January assault became an example of a brilliant assault operation. Despite the fact that the attackers did not have a numerical advantage (the militia in the airport sector were inferior to the Ukrainians in numbers and equipment, even according to the Ukrainian side), they were able to neutralize this problem. The key to success was excellent organization of the battle, decisiveness and audacity of actions and a clear understanding of the attackers’ tasks. The attack began when the tanks finally brought down the control tower with several well-placed shots, depriving the Ukrainian soldiers of a convenient observation post. The terminal was isolated from outside help by fire from all types of weapons. Communication between Ukrainian units was disrupted by electronic warfare. Individual tanks, quickly maneuvering, suppressed Ukrainian firing and observation positions with short series of shots, avoiding artillery fire. A homemade engineering munition with a capacity of almost two tons of TNT was launched onto the top floor, immediately causing heavy losses to the garrison.

Twilight of the Cyborgs. Winter, another armored personnel carrier near the terminal. 1/2

A control tower destroyed by gunfire. 2/2

Amazons from the militia.

At this time, militia strike groups were already operating in the terminal itself. The path was paved by sappers who blew up obstacles with explosive charges. The assault groups advanced inside the building, driving the garrison into the interior and thus finally depriving them of hope for rescue. The progress was slow and cautious, but it was completely inevitable. The first floor was quickly occupied, and gradually the militia captured the upper levels. Sappers punched holes in the floors to throw grenades into the premises occupied by the garrison. The battle took place among twisted debris, bizarre piles of industrial debris, various-sized holes made by earlier shells, and barricades erected by garrison soldiers. A joke from another era about another city, “The bedroom has already been captured, we are fighting for the kitchen,” was literally embodied. Opponents could hear each other more often than see each other. The fighters were on different floors, and the ruins complicated the “architecture” of this Cretan labyrinth to the limit, where Theseus looked for their Minotaurs in thermal imagers and threw grenades, and any electronic Ariadne was powerless among the constantly changing mess of corridors and rat holes after explosions and collapses.

Militia mortar position. Artillery of all types cut off the Ukrainian detachment in the terminal from escape, playing a huge role in the assault.

Having gone out to the arms to receive the aircraft, the militia forced the garrison soldiers to retreat inside the building with fire. The trap was slamming shut.

Interestingly, this success was achieved at a very moderate price: the militia reported one of its own dead and ten killed Ukrainian soldiers. The modesty of the application may indirectly indicate its realism. As a kind of prize, the militia received the “cyborg” banner; later A. Zakharchenko returned it to the Ukrainian side along with the bodies of the killed soldiers.

The Ukrainian side immediately took countermeasures, trying to capture the rebel stronghold in the monastery with a counterattack. The attackers were met by coordinated fire from tanks, infantry and artillery. The attack failed. At that time, the militia already occupied the northern side of the terminal and could paralyze with fire any attempts to get close to the building. An attempt to get to the terminal along the runway from the radar station ended with two armored tractors being burned by grenade launcher and artillery fire in the immediate vicinity of the building near the passenger arms.

The next step of the Ukrainian commanders was an attempt on January 18 to enter from the other side and reach the terminal from the east, through the village of Spartak and the Putilov junction of the railway and highway. The idea was daring and quite reasonable: the capture of the junction would take the Ukrainians to the rear of the entire airport, including both terminals, outbuildings and a hotel. Initially, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were even successful: several militia tanks were caught while replenishing ammunition and were knocked out. However, then the tankers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine came across organized resistance. At the Putilov junction, a counter tank battle ensued, which ended with the loss of 1-3 tanks by the Ukrainians (both Ukrainians and militias agree that the total losses of armored vehicles were approximately equal) and the rollback of the Ukrainian strike group. One or two Ukrainian tanks were set on fire directly in the tunnel. According to the militia, it was the explosion of the ammunition that brought down the Putilovsky Bridge. The only consolation for the Ukrainian side that day was that the next caravan, under the cover of the battle, managed to evacuate some of the wounded from the territory adjacent to the terminal. The fighting did not stop day or night: armored groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces constantly tried to cut through a corridor to the airport, attacking from different sides, and artillery bombarded both terminals and the positions around them with shells.

Putilovsky Bridge.

The “cyborgs” remaining in the terminal were blocked in the interior of the airport. The commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not abandon them to their mercy, but the “Spartans” and “Somali” were already a hedgehog in the terminal and on the approaches, so attempts to break into the airport inevitably entailed heavy casualties among those breaking through. The few dozen soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian troops remaining in the building had only two options: death or captivity.

The collapse of organized defense, as often happens in war, entails new losses. The dramatically changed situation made attempts to break through a real game of roulette. The militia’s artillery outmaneuvered the Ukrainian artillery and acted much more actively, so mistakes could have been costly for the Ukrainians: people and equipment exposed in open space had to fall victims to mortars and MLRS. In addition, the Ukrainian side pointed to the activity of rebel electronic warfare systems that jammed communications or intercepted negotiations.

The thick fog over the battlefield added piquancy to what was happening. In general, trying to get to the airport became a roulette with an unpredictable number of cartridges in the drum.

On January 20, a group of Ukrainian military from the 79th and 95th airmobile brigades went to the airport in search of a certain agricultural complex near the airport, in which Ukrainian units were supposed to be found. A piece of the runway is indeed located on territory that once long ago belonged to an agro-industrial institute, but it is difficult to say what kind of object one could look for on the runway. The operation was led by Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Kuzminykh, battalion commander of the 95th Airborne Brigade, who received this position literally the day before. In captivity, he gave somewhat more abstract testimony: “We had to get our people out of the airport.” As a result, the group lost orientation and collided with the “Somali”. According to another version, the militia learned about the advance of the column via a captured radio. One of the armored personnel carriers was hit by a grenade launcher, and a seriously injured mechanic drove away a vehicle filled with wounded and shell-shocked soldiers. Others were less fortunate: two armored vehicles were hit, seven people were killed, and the battalion commander, along with seven other soldiers, was captured. A valuable “trophy”: the captured battalion commander took part in the siege of Slavyansk, the battles for Shchastya and, finally, in the battle for the airport from the very beginning of the conflict.

With the capture of the terminal, the vicious circles turned in the opposite direction: now the Ukrainians were forced to launch suicidal attacks, losing people and equipment. The death of the Kuzmin group was, of course, the most brutal failure, but attempts from different sides to approach the new terminal continued continuously. In the end, one of the units of the Dnepr regiment simply ignored the next order to attack, considering it inappropriate to the situation. A tragicomic episode is associated with this refusal. Advisor to the President of Ukraine Yuri Biryukov loudly condemned the refuseniks. After this, the adviser, using obscene language, was told that the honor of the uniform should not be discredited, and he found nothing better than to announce that the attack had actually failed because of an impostor named Manko (call sign “Pilot”), who had infiltrated the meeting of officers headquarters The story culminated in the fact that both “imposters”, “Pilot” and Manko, who turned out to be different people, began to scold the adviser with shameful words, their eyes wildly sparkling.

Meanwhile, in the terminal, the ring, or, more correctly, the sphere of the environment, was shrinking. The apotheosis of what was happening was when sappers blew up the last premises occupied by Ukrainian soldiers. Several charges, each over a ton of TNT, collapsed the third floor and ended the terminal's defenses, forcing the surrender of everyone who could even raise their hands. From under the rubble on the afternoon of January 21, several living “servicemen” were pulled out (according to Motorola, up to a dozen and a half) and the corpses of those who were not so lucky. This last detachment consisted of about thirty people. Perhaps they could still be evacuated in the dark during the first days of the assault, but the Ukrainian command stubbornly tried to hold on to the terminal, either believing that this stronghold could still be preserved, or for the sake of preserving beautiful legend about invincible cyborgs. The Ukrainian generals calmly sacrificed those who created this image.

In total, according to the Ukrainian side, as a result of the last assault in and around the airport, fifty Ukrainian soldiers were killed or captured, however, the list is incomplete. The Los Angeles Times publication, hot on the heels, claims, citing a Ukrainian officer, that in one of the brigades alone, 13 people were killed and 62 were missing. As for prisoners, data on their number is contradictory. The head of the Ukrainian center for the exchange of prisoners, Vladimir Ruban, said that more than two dozen Ukrainian soldiers and officers were captured. The SBU representative put it more bluntly, announcing that “several dozen” airport defenders were captured. The largest number of prisoners was announced by volunteer Viktor Maistrenko: according to him, in total, the fall of the airport cost the freedom of forty-four “cyborgs.”

In fact, January 21 can truly be called the day the airport was taken. After this, the only enemy of the militia in the terminals were mines, tripwires and unexploded ammunition, with which the airport was literally stuffed. The shelling of airport buildings continues to this day.

Journalists walk through the airport. 1/3.

Broken equipment, destruction.

Pay attention to the destroyed tank, the turret of which was thrown into the floor above by the explosion.

For some symbolic completion of the plot, on this day Dmitry Yarosh was seriously wounded near the airport. The leader of the Ukrainian nationalists came under gunfire.

Yarosh commented on the results of the battle:

“The Ukrainian military command is often out of touch with reality and has not drawn any conclusions from previous defeats... It’s easier for us, which is why we don’t have status - they sent us to hell. Before our eyes, the company was put in Zhabye, in front of Peski... The boys were laid out like targets. There is no logic. They did not draw any conclusions from the Ilovaisk tragedy.”

What happened next became a matter of technology. On January 24, the remnants of the Ukrainian troops retreated from the ruins of the control tower, and the next day they were forced out of the bunker under the radar station. The airport completely fell into the hands of the militia.

All this time, the Ukrainian authorities reassured the public with reports about complete control of the airport and practiced their wit about Motorola taking over the airport for the ninetieth time. Denial of the obvious continued, despite the fact that the reports of Russian correspondents came from the new terminal in a stream, and from the records it was easy to establish that they were made in the most different points air harbor. Gradually, the media, and then the Ukrainian state, had to take off their rose-colored glasses and come to terms with reality. On January 29, the Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, General Muzhenko, said that Ukrainian troops had been withdrawn to a distance of one and a half kilometers from the airport.

Iliad of Donbass

The siege of the airport and, as a culmination, the final attack became a real “tournament of champions” of the war in the DPR. One way or another, most of the most trained and well-equipped units fighting in the Donetsk Republic managed to take part in the battle. On the Ukrainian side, the Kirovograd 3rd Special Purpose Regiment, airmobile units, and volunteers from Dnepr and Right Sector acted. On the opposite side of the barricade were veterans of Ilovaisk from “Somalia”, the Motorola detachment, which participated in the hottest clashes of the war starting from Slavyansk and Semenovka, “Vostok”, which became one of the first formations of the DPR militia. Ultimately, it was the militia "guard" who achieved success, taking the new terminal in a spectacular attack. The war in Donbass has become to a very large extent an artillery fight, and in such conditions the success achieved primarily by a well-organized infantry battle looks especially valuable.

Nietzsche suggested being proud of your enemies, and the German philosopher's maxim really applies to the battle for Donetsk airport. The Ukrainian military did not just demonstrate the ability to live and operate in poor living conditions with weak or even interrupted supplies. They put up meaningful and extremely stubborn resistance, fought to the limit of what was possible, and ultimately the airport garrison did not capitulate and was not forced to leave, but was destroyed by force of arms, or the remnants made their way to join their own. “There are no jokes there. Just make a mistake - you were immediately wounded or killed. They don’t play at lightning, death walks nearby,” “Prapor,” the famous militia commander, remarked about the enemy. One can have a variety of feelings towards Ukrainian soldiers and officers, but they certainly were not pitiful or insignificant and deserved recognition of their high military qualities. The Ukrainian military had the most demanding and harsh teacher: their own enemy. Carried through the gauntlet walls of Slavyansk, the Southern Cauldron, Ilovaisk, and battles on the outskirts of Lugansk and Donetsk, the Ukrainians gained enormous and brutal combat experience, and the enemy’s ability to learn from their mistakes should never be underestimated.

On the other hand, the militia showed enormous qualitative growth. Mark Franchetti, a correspondent for The Sunday Times, described the militia fighters in June as enthusiastic but lacking in basic training. In January 2015, former enthusiasts, only a few of whom, like Motorola, had previous combat experience, turned into experienced soldiers capable of conducting complex operations, well acquainted with the tactics of assault groups and able to organize the interaction of all types of weapons. The chilling stories of the Ukrainian military and journalists about the GRU special forces units, Vympel, air assault battalions and other units of the Kalmyk mounted militia operating against them are also a kind of recognition of the merits of the assaulters. In reality, if the Russian troops were represented at all, they were represented by a small number of staff and technical specialists; the brunt of the fighting was borne by local militias and Russian volunteers. The arguments in favor of the presence of Russian armed forces on the battlefield sometimes look simply outlandish: “They can’t even start a car!” - assured one of the security forces. It’s hard not to come to the conclusion that such deep contempt from society for the “local wool” has become one of the main reasons for the current disasters in Ukraine. On the other hand, the presence of volunteers from Russia, including those with good combat or service experience, has not been canceled. The same Motorola served in the North Caucasus, but at the start of the war he was a peaceful manufacturer of tombstones, and not an active agent of the state.

The tenacity of the militia and their commanders, who tried to take the airport many times in different ways and ultimately achieved their goal, is nothing short of amazing. How a real Russian army would act during an assault on the airport is quite obvious: the terminals and artillery positions in Avdeevka and Piski would be treated with a known number of high-explosive bombs and/or operational-tactical missiles, after which the infantry would finish off what could continue to resist. All the more advantageous is a militia operation carried out without the use of truly powerful means of influencing reality that modern armies have. In particular, speaking about the “Altai armored cavalry”, one episode cannot be ignored. The press did find something that, in theory, could serve as confirmation of the presence of regular Russian army units at the airport. During the fighting in the new terminal, a soldier with a Russian Marine Corps chevron on his sleeve was caught in the stringer’s lens. However, it turned out to be Konstantin Gorelov, a twenty-two-year-old volunteer from Sakhalin. He actually served conscript service in the Marine Corps, but he came to Donetsk and fought in the Motorola detachment, having already left the reserve as a private citizen.

A Donetsk resident described his feelings from talking about the Russian military as follows:

“Personally, I find out about their existence approximately in the following way: I talk with my acquaintance or an acquaintance of a militiaman, who in turn saw and talked with their acquaintance a militiaman two, three, four weeks ago, who stood under populated area N three, four, five weeks ago and there were (that is, including) some Russian military personnel. You won't understand anything from the dialect either. There are indeed volunteers here. And how can you tell the difference between volunteer Vasya from Ryazan and serviceman Petya from Pskov?”

Why did the airport hold out for so long? If you do not indulge in lyricism and proceed from material factors, then the following picture emerges. After the cavalry raid failed in May, the militias were unable to tightly blockade the airport: they had too many other tasks and too little time and people to solve them. In such a situation, the airport was blocked rather conditionally, and this allowed the Ukrainians to supply the garrison with everything necessary and change personnel on rotation. After Strelkov’s breakthrough from Slavyansk, the airport began to be taken into a tighter ring, but this time the militias found themselves hostage to the general unfavorable situation at the front: Peski and Avdiivka were lost, and from an isolated fort the airport turned into a forward redoubt of the Ukrainian battle formations, fed from the rear and covered from the flanks. The militias could not prevent the release of the air port: in an open field, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, equipped with armored vehicles in abundance, would simply and easily defeat their light infantry. Thus, the airport was not truly surrounded for even two weeks. During the truce, the main base plates of the airport - Peski and Avdievka - were never taken, and they have not been taken to this day. As a result, taking advantage of the dominant position of the tower and the new terminal, the Ukrainian military could, with luck, defeat the assault forces of the militia, and, at a minimum, disrupt the attacks. However, in mid-autumn the situation changed: the rebels began to methodically surround the airport’s defenders, not trying to finish off the “cyborgs” with one blow, but gradually taking the structures around the tower and the new terminal. As a result, although the Ukrainian Armed Forces could say “we are holding the airport” in both August and December, the state of affairs was fundamentally different: the situation was steadily improving for the Donbass people and worsening for the security forces. As a result, a well-prepared January assault led to the rapid capture of the new terminal and the blocking of the remnants of the garrison in the interior. This situation immediately made the situation extremely unfavorable for the “servicemen.” If earlier the insurgents had to attack in densely shot terrain, now the Ukrainians had to energetically go to cannon fire and RPG grenades across a space as flat as a tablecloth in obviously doomed to failure attempts to restore contact with the dying garrison. They could not help but carry out these attacks (one can imagine the psychological effect of surrendering their comrades to the mercy of the victors), but carrying them out inevitably meant heavy daily losses. If until now the airport was slowly grinding down militia groups, now the millstones of war were grinding the Ukrainians at a high pace: they had no opportunity to either leave the airport alone or return the terminal. Having imposed a battle on the Ukrainian Armed Forces under conditions that were nightmarish for those times, the militias in just a few days brutally avenged their previous humiliating failures. In the end, only the death of the last “cyborgs” in the undermined premises stopped these desperate battles.

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Original taken from prof_eug in Defense of Donetsk airport

Detailed article by Yuri Butusov about the defense of Donetsk airport:

A small note from Yuri: " Now I saw that I didn’t mention in the material one of the units of the airport defenders - the 74th separate reconnaissance battalion - sorry, guys, you work in the hottest spots, I’ll write about you separately."

Donetsk airport has turned into an arena of fierce fighting that has not stopped for two months. Russian mercenaries and Ukrainian troops are suffering significant losses, but no one stops fighting. What is happening at the airport and what is the fate of this mini-Verdun? What will be its results?

The operation to defend Donetsk airport was launched by Ukrainian troops in early May. At that time, armored units had not yet entered Ukraine Russian Federation, and focal control abroad remained in the hands of the Ukrainian command. The military was preparing an operation to block the state border with the main forces of the army group, and our units could move along it almost unhindered. Therefore, control over the airports of Donetsk, Kramatorsk and Lugansk was an important task - so as not to turn them into convenient channels for transporting troops to Ukraine. The Russian command was well aware of the importance of airports for ensuring the logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The commander of the operational command "South", General R. Khomchak, taking into account the key importance of the airport as a communications hub, deployed about 150 military personnel - the forces of the 3rd special forces regiment from Kirovograd - to cover it. The airport management strictly warned the special forces not to enter the new terminal, built in 2012, under any circumstances, so as not to frighten passengers on international flights with armed soldiers and not to interfere with their work. As a result, on the night of May 25, the new terminal and approaches to the airport were captured without a fight by shock formations of the Russian special services in Ukraine - the Vostok battalion of Khodakovsky, the detachments of Boroday, Pushilin, Zdrilyuk and Oplot, with a total number of up to 300 fighters, from among the former and current employees of the special forces of the GRU and the FSB of the Russian Federation, including Chechens. They hoped that the Ukrainian leadership would not dare to fight at the newly built airport. However, Supreme Commander-in-Chief A. Turchinov ordered the troops to fire at all identified firing points. At approximately 11:00, one of the Chechen terrorists on the roof of the new terminal raised the tube of the Igla anti-aircraft missile system and aimed it at a Ukrainian MIG-29 fighter flying at low altitude over the terminal. This was noticed by the sniper of the 3rd regiment, Sergeant N., who reported on the situation and received permission to fire to kill. With an accurate shot from a sniper, the five-month battle for the airport began. In the subsequent battle on May 26, the Kirovograd residents, with effective support from helicopters and fighters, defeated the enemy, the remnants of the Russian troops fled from the airport, losing control in panic and shooting each other. Over 140 Russian terrorists were killed, including the instructor of the Special Purpose Center of the FSB of the Russian Federation Sergei Zhdanovich, and a large number of Russian special forces. The losses of the 3rd regiment were one lightly wounded.

Since then, Donetsk airport has continued to be the scene of continuous battles. The 3rd Special Forces Regiment participated in the defense of the airport all this time from May to October, although starting from August the number of special forces did not exceed... 30 soldiers! They were supported by army units. The heaviest load fell on the company-tactical groups of the 72nd mechanized brigade (June-July) and the 93rd mechanized brigade (August-October).

Frankly speaking, the Donetsk airport actually lost its strategic importance in July. Ukrainian troops were unable to carry out an operation to block the state border, since Russian artillery and special forces entered the battle in the Izvarino area. Then the Russian troops began to launch powerful fire strikes against our other troops along the border, and under these conditions it became impossible to cut off ground transportation. After the enemy retained control of approximately 150 kilometers of the state border, including a major highway, and massive transfers of troops and supplies began by land transport, hold
nothing could change the airports. The Donetsk airport could become a springboard for Ukrainian operations around Donetsk. However, the price of holding this bridgehead was very high, since the airport was surrounded and completely dependent on external supplies - first of all, water had to be supplied. But the ATO commander, Chief of the General Staff V. Muzhenko gave the order to hold all occupied positions. Despite the fact that there were no reserves to carry out the rotation of troops and to ensure safe transportation or rear protection, Ukrainian soldiers continued to carry out their assigned tasks in the most difficult conditions. Illiterate operational planning and control of ATO troops has led and continues to lead to the fact that Ukrainian soldiers and officers atone for the mediocre decisions of the Chief of the General Staff with their heroism, self-sacrifice and great bloodshed. However, Muzhenko is not worried about any losses, because he explains the constant encirclement of Ukrainian troops to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Petro Poroshenko as an example of outstanding military valor. Unfortunately, the tactics of holding any position, even surrounded by the enemy, led to the fact that combat operations along the entire front were carried out and are being carried out in an extremely unfavorable tactical situation. Ukrainian troops suffer the main losses when trying to conduct convoys to encircled units, when shelling encircled units engaged in holding territory, and not searching for and destroying the enemy.

The situation at the airport became critical already in July, when the enemy closed a tight encirclement ring. The supply of supplies became possible only along a guarded corridor, which was created after the strike group of sector "B" - several tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of the 93rd brigade and the assault company of the Dnepr Ministry of Internal Affairs battalion captured the villages of Peski and Avdeevka. Since then, Sands has been a key position for holding the airport, since it is there that groups for convoy breakthroughs are formed, and it is in this area that the combined artillery group of Sector B is stationed.

But the most fierce battles at the airport, thanks to which the whole world learned about the Ukrainian “cyborgs,” unfolded precisely in September, immediately after the truce.

Why are Russian mercenaries attacking the airport during the truce period?

The reasons for the continuous assault on the airport are actually political. Paradoxically, it was the conditions of the truce that provoked the assault. ZN.UA sources showed a map that was drawn up based on the results of the Minsk agreements between Presidents Putin and Poroshenko. This is a 30-kilometer demarcation zone between Russian troops and Ukrainian troops. According to the terms of the truce, Ukraine pledged to begin the withdrawal of troops from the airport on October 10 and complete on the 14th. However, Russia is not interested in a peaceful settlement in Donbass, and Putin has obviously done everything to completely derail the Minsk agreements. While the regular Russian occupation army retreated from the front line to the rear areas of Donbass, the Russian command concentrated mercenary detachments with artillery support to capture a number of key objects on the front line. Putin’s mercenaries did not fulfill a single point of the peace plan and did not withdraw their troops to any of the planned points; moreover, they demonstratively did not intend to comply with the terms of the ceasefire.

The reasons for the desperate attacks on the airport are quite obvious. The field commanders, who know that the Donetsk airport must be abandoned by our troops, decided to win a demonstrative political victory. They sent their troops into a frontal assault, so that by the time the Ukrainian troops were withdrawn, they could declare that the Ukrainians did not leave on their own, and that the airport was captured by assault. Whoever is able to be the first to report the seizure of the airport will earn the title of the coolest gang of Novorossiya in the eyes of the Kremlin. Since Russian intelligence services fuel competition and manipulate field commanders, the latter are fighting for priority in receiving supplies and funding from Russia, for high positions in the puppet leadership of the “DPR”. Therefore, any sacrifices of mercenaries for “Givi”, “Motorola”, “Oplot”, “Vostok” do not matter at all - on the contrary, they use their high losses as proof of their great efforts and to receive additional supplies of money and weapons from the Russian Federation. In the alternative reality that Russian propaganda drives into the heads of the militants, it is the Ukrainians who are attacking at the airport, their forces are weakened, and it is not difficult to finish them off. For participation in attacks at the airport, the “government” of the “DPR” removes the criminal record from citizens with criminal records, and generally promises everyone a job and quick demobilization. Living waves of inexperienced and poorly trained terrorists are used for banal reconnaissance in force - they divert the fire of Ukrainian covering artillery and airport defenders, thanks to which professional Russian mercenaries are trying to detect our firing positions and disable them.

How do our people manage to defend the airport?

The stories of the defenders about many hundreds of killed militants are pure truth. And indeed, our losses in people are tens of times less. The support artillery from Sand has long targeted all the landmarks and covers the enemy very quickly and very accurately; our fighters occupy hidden positions in the ruins and can conduct sudden and accurate fire. As machine gunner of the 93rd brigade Alexander Sergeev told ZN.UA: “If the Russians had just once seen the heaps of corpses of their compatriots around the airport, they saw how stray dogs gnaw human bones and run with the heads of dead men in their teeth along the runway, they would forever hate this war."

Effective command is important, and the fact that commanders leave only volunteers at the airport - they do not keep a large number of troops there. The officers of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment distinguished themselves - Colonel B. and Colonel T., who, since the beginning of May, led the defense of the airport under the call sign "Redoubt", the mortar battery at the airport itself - call sign "Apricot", as well as the support artillery in Peski - call sign " Zircon", many other officers and soldiers. It is impossible not to mention the volunteers of the “Right Sector” - at the most difficult moment of the airport assault in September, when units exhausted by a months-long siege were subjected to powerful attacks, and there were no reserves to reinforce our fighters, a platoon of “PS” voluntarily broke into the airport and made an invaluable contribution to defend the airport at the most crucial moment. This was a heroic act, because the enemy, as a rule, does not take prisoners of PS fighters.

It should be noted, speaking about “cyborgs”, that an integral part of the defense of the airport is the defense of the village of Peski - this is a real “road of life”. In fact, the shelling and attacks on this village are even more intense than the attacks on the airport. Therefore, units of the Dnepr Ministry of Internal Affairs battalion, artillerymen and tankmen of the 93rd brigade, who defended Sands in the most difficult conditions and are still holding out there, should also be included in the honorable ranks of the “cyborgs”. In October, units of the 95th, 79th airmobile brigades, and the OUN volunteer battalion were transferred to reinforcement in Peski and the airport, and rotation was carried out. Fresh forces effectively joined the fight and seriously changed the situation on this section of the front.

Our units suffered the greatest losses during the defense of the airport in Piski and in convoy escort operations.

The biggest threat to seize the airport was during September 12-30. At that moment, the enemy launched massive attacks on the airport, and there was simply no one to reinforce our fighters. General Muzhenko, the culprit of the Ilovaisk tragedy, made another ridiculous decision that entailed serious consequences - he stopped supporting sector “B” with reserves. The newly formed fresh units of the 17th Tank Brigade were transferred not to Peski, but to the Lugansk region 150 km away, and weak units of the 1st Tank Brigade, exhausted from months of fighting, were sent from the Lugansk region. At the same time, the headquarters of the 1st Tank remained in the Lugansk region, and the headquarters of the 17th tank remained in Donetsk in sector “B”. This made it extremely difficult to manage and supply troops.

Moreover, Muzhenko took the only reserve from sector “B” - the 43rd territorial defense battalion. This battalion is made up entirely of volunteers and could improve airport security. However, Muzhenko, at the height of the battle for Donetsk airport, took the 43rd battalion... to Artemovsk! Where no fighting took place. And no matter how hard the regional administration tried, no matter how hard the commander of sector “B” Khomchak tried to convince Muzhenko, no matter what tricks they resorted to, the battalion was taken away, even without body armor, equipment and transport.

At this time, the defenders of the airport had to leave a number of advantageous observation posts at the airport due to lack of forces. On September 28, an assault group of Oplot mercenaries burst into the building that housed the last line of defense and the Redoubt command post and captured the first floor.

The counterattack was personally led by the head of the airport defense - Colonel of the 3rd Regiment T. - call sign "Redoubt", who, with the last reserve of several fighters, personally destroyed the enemy in close-range combat with grenades and eliminated the threat.

For two weeks, the defense of the Donetsk airport rested solely on the courage and professionalism of the personnel, and the exertion of all the forces and means of sector “B” under the command of Khomchak - since throughout September the enemy was in the area of ​​the airport and the village. Sands had superiority over our troops in numbers and equipment.

To this moment heroic defense airport received a huge public response in the media. People were concerned about the critical situation, and as a result, the ATO command was forced to send reserve paratroopers to the sector. Arrival of the 79th and 95th brigades in the area of ​​the village. Sands and the airport made it possible to achieve a decisive turning point - fresh forces finally carried out a rotation, and a company of the 93rd Brigade and three groups of the 3rd Special Forces Regiment finally left the airport after three months of continuous fighting without rotation. Not everyone got out - shortly before leaving, while repelling a tank attack, the company commander of the 93rd mechanized brigade, Captain Sergei Kolodiy, who had been defending the airport since August 1, heroically died. In the September battles, the commander of the special forces group, senior lieutenant Evgeniy Podolyanchuk, died the death of the brave - one of the best officers of the 3rd regiment, one of the veteran defenders who defended the Donetsk airport, starting from the first battle on May 26. Colonel of the 3rd Regiment T. - call sign "Redoubt" - refused to leave the airport on rotation and remained in charge of the battle - he was wounded in subsequent battles and was evacuated after receiving serious injuries.

Currently, the defense of the airport and the village of Peski is securely held - Russian mercenaries have no chance of breaking the resistance of the "cyborgs" on their own - without the support of regular Russian troops. However, the situation in the area of ​​the airport requires the Ukrainian command to make decisions - further continuation of the battle for the airport in the conditions of actual encirclement requires adequate decisions and actions. The threat from the flanks must be eliminated to ensure a safe corridor for the convoys. Constant attacks on convoys led to heavy losses in people and armored vehicles of the Ukrainian troops. The ATO command is obliged to take decisive measures to improve our positions.

The military-strategic situation has also changed seriously. Putin’s violation of the Minsk agreements exempts Ukraine from fulfilling the terms of the truce. There is no need to leave the airport, but in this case an operation should be carried out to improve the positions occupied. In any case, this requires decisions and responsibility for the result on the part of the Chief of the General Staff, who, alas, is trying to avoid any responsibility in a difficult situation. Muzhenko must finally stop deceiving the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and make a report on the situation in other places where the enemy has organized envelopment from the flanks and is trying to destroy our positions - at the 31st and 32nd checkpoints near Shchastya and in the Debaltsevo area. The reality is that without the direct intervention of the Russian army, mercenary detachments cannot carry out large-scale attacks along the entire front and cannot assemble more than three or four strike groups. The Ukrainian army can and must give an effective rebuff to the enemy and do everything to ensure that our troops stop fighting in an unfavorable tactical situation, so that defense crises arise from the enemy, and not from our troops. We have the forces to do this, but these forces require competent strategy, tactics and operational planning.

In fact, there is no other way but struggle for Ukraine. The people of Ukraine will not allow, after the dramatic defense of the airport, to simply abandon these positions, abundantly watered with the blood of patriots. There are no longer any obligations to leave the airport; the Minsk agreements are a fiction. It is impossible to leave the airport now, before the elections, but this cannot be done, Pyotr Alekseevich, later, after the elections. Because it is impossible to come to an agreement with Putin - he always lies. Ukraine must conduct peace negotiations, but we are obliged to continue the war and conduct it competently, professionally, in accordance with military science, and not to please the absurd ambitions of generals. We are obliged to show that all Russian attempts to attack in the Donbass will finally receive a worthy rebuff, causing the mercenary detachments to panic. The legendary defense of Donetsk airport provided many examples of such effective fighting...