On November 12 I was summoned to Vostok brigade headquarters and heard an order, according to which Essence of Time Independent Tactical Group (EoT ITG) was required to become subordinate to Vostok brigade 3rd battalion and relieve Sparta unit on Monastery and Veseloye positions in Donetsk airport. EoT ITG had 72 hours to withdraw from positions in Panteleimonovka, receive ammunition, additional weaponry, field ration, and prepare to assume positions in Donetsk airport.
Council was appointed to take place on November 14 in the 3rd battalion headquarters. At that time, by the night, ITG received exact data on its new positions. I was informed on the operative situation on the theater of war in the area of our responsibility, asked my questions and discussed the structure of the supply of the unit. Besides that, I received information on the forces and means of the 3rd battalion, which already began to assume positions in the airport by that time. In particular, 3rd battalions 9th company (commander Zhora) had already been defending positions in the direction of Peski village, and that sector was assigned to the Donetsk airport theater of war.
7th company (commander Gruzin) was supposed to assume positions on November 15 (Spartak village and the industrial zone in the direction of Avdeevka and Ukrainian army’s AA military base).
Gruzin: “In my company, there are Azerbaijanis, I am Georgian, we had Kazakhs… multi-national. There was Soviet Union here once. We may say that it gathered here once again.” May 26, 2015. Still from Essence of Time-DPR TV Issue 478
We, EoT ITG, were assuming positions in Monastery (the right batch of our positions) and the right flank of Veseloye village (the left batch of our positions) by the morning of November 16. This way, left and right of us, out of Vostok’s units, were the platoons of 3rd battalion’s 8th company.
Together with us, a bit later, during the day of November 16, Miner’s division (commander Trener) assumed positions of the former Yerevan hotel, also joining 8th company’s line of defense.
Early in the morning, at 04:00 on November 16, 2014, our ITG boarded the “Ural” truck and the passenger GAZelle truck (which we bought in August for the money raised by Essence of Time) and moved out to the area of Donetsk airport. The ITG totaled 69 people at that time. The commander and the instructors from Vostok brigade training center saw us off. We were riding through the night city (it was still dark). We arrived on Stratonavtov street — it is the nearest street parallel to the airport’s runway. We reported to the 3rd battalion’s chief of staff — Krym. Krym started to take the guys to their positions on his vehicle in groups of 3-4 people. I went with him on the first trip.
On the Monastery position, in the house of the prioress, we were met by guys from Sparta – Motorola‘s guys. We were met cordially, thoughtfully, without pomposity or showiness. They walked us through the details — where to better park the car, where to move by running, where to put the ammunition and equipment. They were very surprised by the absence of bulletproof vests and helmets. They filled us in on the directions and positions of Ukrops, explained us what there is to know about these positions, the schedule according to which they are shelling, and so on.
We actually worked a lot together with Sparta and Somali battalions. They are good, cheerful guys. Always energized for combat, desperate in many respects. Sparta is characterized by a large experience of lightning assault operations during the war in Donbass. In ordinary conversations Sparta commander Motorola is a modest and calm man, with a very charming smile.
Somali is similar to Sparta, the difference is that “Somalians” are tank squads and artillerymen (not exclusively, of course). The “Somalians”, especially the artillery, were the ones who didn’t allow to shell the positions of the militia with absolute impunity. In ordinary conversations Somali commander Givi is very cheerful, inclined for joking. At the same time, he is always ready to help — be it share his ammunition, or provide artillery or hardware support at first request.
Actually, thanks to Sparta and Somali (which in split second reacted to any of Ukrop attacks, were always ready to charge at the enemy in response to any breakthrough attempts, provided timely support) the militia first defended the airport, and then took it under full control by having significantly less losses on our side. Motorola, for example, having found out that Vostok brigade members assumed the positions without bulletproof vests and helmets, personally brought all of his stock of protective equipment to our positions, and later invested lots of effort to get it wherever possible and bring, maybe two, maybe one sets of protective gear. In person. This, considering the fact that every person who arrived to our positions got hit by artillery shelling or small arms fire.
While I was taking over the positions, and Krym was driving EoT ITG to the positions, guys from Sparta covered this process, fiercely suppressing the enemy’s snipers, machine gun nests and automatic grenade launchers. Thanks to this we assumed the positions without losses. For another week we worked on the Monastery and Veseloye together with Sparta.
I want to tell about one incident. On November 17, 2014, Krym and I have got hold of helmets, 300 of them, the famous tin ones. At around noon the driver of the car and I took them to the monastery. Halfway the engine died, we drove into a fresh 120mm mortar shell crater. We managed to get the helmets out in time and almost managed to lay low in time. Mortars hit us, the very first one blasted the Zhiguli car, the second seriously wounded the driver in his leg. I dressed his wound and called Pantsyr: “Bro, so and so, the guys have nothing at all, the helmets must be delivered.”
Pantsyr rushed together with his driver Sashka, loaded the helmets and the Zhiguli driver. Turned around, left the area of the shelling, brought the wounded to the battalion headquarters. Returned, made a breakthrough near the monastery. Parked behind the church. I started to unload the piles of helmets and give them to Pantsyr and Sashka, they ran to “Dvoika” (the house of the prioress). The third pile I grabbed myself. That’s when we got hit by automatic grenade launcher. First I fell under Pantsyr’s car. When there was a gap between the explosions, I dashed to “Dvoika”, going round the church. I got him right at the staircase. A shell fragment hit my right knee. I fell on the first step of the staircase in front of the temple entrance. I remember feeling bitter — there was a feeling that all of my leg was torn. I couldn’t turn to see it.
But, most importantly, I dropped the helmets! I flattened myself against the step, reached out to the helmets, tried to pull them towards myself. The explosions were right above my head — the helmets were getting pierced by shells, while nothing hit me. The explosions became more frequent. That’s when Pantsyr rushed to me, grabbed me by the scruff, raised me up and put me on his shoulder. You had to see this)))) A short, lean commander of armored forces brigade carries a large and massive man, with the latter at the same trying to grab as many helmets as possible. Pantsyr was cursing and demanding to drop them, said we can get them later. I had a hard time parting with them — three helmets were already pierced. Won’t be enough for everyone. Then Pantsyr gave up and started gathering the helmets together with me. In the course of this I realized that a piece of concrete, not metal, hit me in the knee, and I started to use my right leg a bit.
We gathered the helmets. We had to cross a little distance on the open space between the Temple and “Dvoika”. A little over 50 meters. But this gap was being hit by not only automatic grenade launcher shells, but a Kalashnikov machine gun as well. We realized that we are stuck “between two fires”. We crouched before a dash from the Temple to “Dvoika” — “make or break”. Pantsyr grumbled at me through clenched teeth, the lightest of what he said was “Bean counter”.
And that’s when a “Spartan” with a Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun (RPK) came out, stood halfway on the route between the Temple and “Dvoika” and started to orderly spray the positions of Ukrops with gunfire. Pantsyr and I rush inside “Dvoika”, “Spartan” follows us. What followed then was dashing to the car and starting its engine, breaking through back to the headquarters on a car with flat tires, bullet-riddled car interior… A bullet that hit hood of the car and went through the radiator between (!) the water pipes, and left through the side.
A lot happened on that day, and in the following days. Think about it: both Pantsyr and the guy from Sparta that I never knew simply did what had to be done. But how did they do it! Calmly, without showing off and without putting themselves first… A lot made us kin with the guys from Sparta (though, of course, there were differences).
As a part of the received task of the first stage of the deployment in the airport we had to learn and, if possible, improve the positions, as well as prevent Ukrop activity on their positions — first and foremost, sniper activity. Besides that, we could not allow Ukrop armored vehicles to feel safe on the runway. The thing is, our positions, especially the monastery positions, formed a wedge and allowed to suppress the part of the runway, which was impossible to avoid when moving towards the new and old terminals and the air-control tower. The reinforcement or the impossibility of reinforcement of “grobycs”* in the airport depended on the activity of our positions.
* “grobyc” is “cyborg” spelled backwards; literally it means “little coffin”. Ukrainian forces that captured the Donetsk airport were referred to as “cyborgs” by Kiev’s propaganda, hence the new name – Editor
As a result, by mid-December 2014 we enhanced our positions, having gradually moved them to the runway itself (“Garage” position). The snipers almost didn’t show up — they had probably run out of these. Ukrops were unable to break through to the new terminal without a fight and without suffering losses. The old terminal was captured by the militiamen, guys from Sparta, Somali and Perevozchik’s platoon from Vostok brigade’s 3rd battalion’s 8th company. By the end of December Ukrops could not do any breakthroughs towards the terminal at all — only during the night, only by foot, and… lol… — only with adventures.
The boys adapted and learned to fight comprehensively.
I want and could tell a lot. The guys will tell some things.
I remember everything. EVERYTHING.
I could have told how our guys from Essence of Time in Russia, having found out that we need protective gear, rushed to find everything necessary, urgently bought it and shipped to us. Do you know how many lives this saved?!!
How Chika and his boys were searching for and ordered potbelly stoves for the positions of my boys.
How “mom Inna” (former school teacher, militiawoman since the start of the war, Perevozchik’s wife) was cooking and shipping soup in thermoses 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the guys on their positions — “so that the kids would eat something hot”.
How the tank and IFV crews lead by Pantsyr rushed into suicide raids to draw the enemy’s fire upon themselves and allow to evacuate the wounded.
How uncle Lom was delivering ammunition for the boys on “Ural” truck under heavy artillery shelling.
How Gazetchik and Khobot were driving towards the positions during the night at insane speed in order to deliver everything necessary, were changing car wheels while being shelled.
How Iris took on the responsibility to develop the positions and, in the end, pushed the Ukrops out. How he taught Kontrabas, whom we are very proud of, to work with the automatic grenade launcher.
How Pyatnitsa made us do the maintenance and cleaning day, and the EoT ITG guys cleaned “Tryoshka” position beyond recognition — it became possible to sleep without freezing, without being knocked down by drafts on the positions.
How Mars and Co. exterminated snipers as such.
How Pyatnitsa and Alfonso went to recon missions)))))))))))
How Krym, Khan, Stalker, Sid, Altay, Motorola, Givi were sitting and scratching their heads over what is there else to cause trouble to Ukrops and not lose our militiamen.
How we carried out the operation “Vasya in the house”)))))
Lots, lots of things I want to tell.
Maybe some other day — God willing.
Other stories of “Essence of Time” unit soldiers: “Essence of Time” unit in Donbass
Source (for copy): https://eu.eot.su/?p=9945
