Colonel Serhii Sidorin: Enemy intensified offensive actions almost along entire frontline. We could say that he did not stop them, but only made pauses

He has been fighting in the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. He met the full-scale invasion in the Luhansk region. Serhii is one of those who made decisions on the organization of the defense of Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne. But his military career began back in 2010 when he graduated from the Academy of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was enlisted in one of the military units in the Kyiv region.

- Did you have any awareness or premonition that Russia might attack Ukraine?

- No. At that time, few people in Ukraine could have thought that there would be a war with Russia. I did not either. Our northern neighbor was positioned as a "brotherly nation"- that's how the media covered it. This false narrative was imposed on us that we were one people with a common history. Military universities were taught by Soviet officers or those whom they had previously taught. Speaking Ukrainian was not fashionable. Supporters of Russia divided Ukraine into East and West. At both the political and military levels, there was a problem: no one considered the Russians to be our enemies.

- But in early 2014, Russia still showed its true colors both in Crimea and Donbas. You took part in the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation - ed. not) at that time. What were you thinking? Were you shocked by those events?

- Yes, they shocked me. Indeed, in 2014, my unit took part in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. We faced negative attitudes of the local population in the Donetsk region. It felt like we were in some other world. It was very strange that the state flag was rejected by people. There were a lot of Russian channels. Local authorities did not support our military. That was the first time I saw that we had very few combat-ready units. Everyone had to learn on the go. We were setting up a command and control system. We were taking the first steps of mobilization. New people were joining our unit. Equipment started to be supplied, which we had to master in a hurry. Before the first battles, there may have been some doubts about the aggression of the Russians and separatists, but then they disappeared.

- Tell us about an incident that happened at the end of June 2014, during the "truce", when Russians started shelling a checkpoint on the northwestern outskirts of Sloviansk...

- It happened on June 26-27. The enemy intended to withdraw from the town of Sloviansk, which our unit was blocking. The enemy may have decided to divert the attention of our Defense Forces to a possible breakthrough from Sloviansk. On June 24-25, it was reported that enemy tanks had entered the city. First, they were spotted on the border with the Luhansk region. Then they entered the Donetsk region and after Donetsk headed for Sloviansk. I still don't know which way, but the vehicles appeared there. We were performing tasks at the checkpoint together with the 95th separate airborne assault brigade. The Kulchytskyi battalion was also with us. Each of us was responsible for our own section of the checkpoint - the pass control, and defense. And on June 26, in the evening, the enemy began a tank assault for the first time in the history of the Russian-Ukrainian war - to close in and shoot at the positions at close range. It was my first real shooting battle. As well as for my unit.

I received information that the enemy was about a hundred meters away. My subordinate grenade launcher was a conscript, so I wasn't entirely sure how it would work. I had a sufficient level of training from the Academy, and then also training in a military unit, so I took the grenade launcher and fired one shot. It turned out to be accurate - the tank stopped. At best, the crew was shell-shocked. The vehicle could not continue moving. That was the first time I saw the enemy through the sights of my small arms and anti-tank weapons. I was most worried about detecting the tank before it detected me, but I succeeded. It saved the position I was working from. There were several fighters with me, and it was actually moving towards us. I managed to catch the moment when I got sideways. From a distance of 40 meters, he was stopped. At night, we had to regroup and leave the checkpoint. But the next day we repelled it again. That's when I got my first injury. My subordinates helped me march about six kilometers. Basically, everything worked out in our favor.

- What kind of injury did you have?

- It was shrapnel. It so happened that at the same time, I shot at the tank, and the one that was moving behind it also shot and hit the shelter I ran to, so I got injured in one of my limbs.

- Then you were treated...

- Yes, I underwent a full course of treatment. First, we reached the neighboring checkpoint in five hours. Then I was evacuated to a hospital in the city of Izium. Then to a hospital in Kharkiv and later to Kyiv. By that time, there were already many people there. As I said, we had to fight on the move, so we had a lot of losses and were wounded. I was pleasantly surprised by our doctors, volunteers and ordinary citizens who came to support us. That was the first time I saw the unity of the Ukrainian people, who wanted to defeat separatist sentiments and the enemy.

- We saw this kind of unity of people at the end of February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale attack on us. Where were you when it all started, and how did you end up in the Luhansk region?

- Our unit received a combat order in late January. We formed a very powerful military unit - a reinforced battalion tactical group. After passing the coordination, we moved to the Luhansk region to reinforce one of the brigades of the Armed Forces. We unloaded in the village of Rubizhne. The last armored vehicles from our military echelon arrived at two a.m. on February 24. At that time, we were located near Sievierodonetsk. We did not know about the outbreak of war - we were preparing to reinforce the brigade according to our mission. Our morning started with the shelling of the airfield located nearby. Accordingly, everyone was put on alert. We received a task to move to perform combat missions in the area of Shchastia and Triokhizbenka to deter Russian breakthroughs and prevent other units of the Armed Forces from being surrounded.

- What was your reaction to what was happening? How did you perceive the outbreak of a full-scale war?

- There was no time to think about it. We were in shock until we received certain combat orders. We realized that most of the men in our unit would probably die, maybe even all of them. There was a moment when we were on our way to a mission, and many units had already started regrouping, retreating to the defense line, and were driving towards us. We wondered if we were going to the right place. Is everything okay? We all gathered together, took up the appropriate position, conducted a very good fire attack on the enemy and completed the task one hundred percent in accordance with the requirements set for us.

- You were among those who made decisions on organizing the defense of Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne. The military called the situation there a "meat grinder". What was that period like for you?

- I was one of those who made decisions on the organization of defense, first of all, of Rubizhne. In the defense of Sievierodonetsk, we took part in the first half of the planning (at the beginning of the fighting), and then these functions were assigned to another unit. The first battles were in the village of Rubizhne. They were heavy, with the enemy outnumbered four to five times and about ten times in artillery. There was a lot of firepower, limited maneuvers for the unit, and a constant search for reserves. But that period was the formation of our unit as a combat military team. After the battles in Rubizhne, the command and control system was established, all the fighters had combat experience and realized that the enemy could be beaten - destroyed their equipment and artillery. We also saw the level of training of our fighters and the Russians, whose training was much lower. Our unit had previously participated in the Joint Forces Operation as part of battalion groups, undergone international and domestic training, and was well-coordinated and staffed only by contractors. At that time, we had neither conscripts nor mobilized soldiers. And the enemy used units from the so-called LPR against us, which were mobilized and thrown into battle in three days. To give you an idea, we had cases when the group could inflict fire damage on their company and come out of the battle victorious.

- So it was in Rubizhne that you had such a complete baptism of fire, wasn`t it?

- Yes, it was in Rubizhne that we tasted victory, saw what it could be like and what we had to do to achieve it.

- This increases motivation and gives you confidence in your victory in this war, doesn't it?

- You're right, it was then that we gained confidence that we were not so easy to defeat. However, we were very worried about the defense of Kyiv. The main thing was for it to stand. We were considering what we would do if it didn't work out - how we would fight, how we would be supplied, or whether we would turn to guerrilla warfare. But we were still confident that we would win. Plus, at the same time, the cruiser Moskva was sunk, Russian planes began to fall, and their missiles failed to reach their targets. The enemy was driven out of Kyiv, and we felt confident and stable. In addition, those units that were defending the capital began to pull up to the eastern direction of the front. Accordingly, it was a very serious relief and a boost to the morale of the fighters.

- You are now in the Bakhmut direction, which is also extremely difficult. The enemy has intensified its attacks here again. Why? What do you think they are planning?

- The enemy has intensified its offensive along almost the entire frontline. Somewhere a little more, somewhere less. We can say that he did not stop them, but only paused. Now, on the eve of the political games that are taking place in the Russian Federation - the upcoming elections - the enemy is pushing its units forward as much as possible to achieve success and present it as a certain victory. In the area of Bakhmut, a clear target is the settlement of Chasiv Yar, which, if captured, opens up several directions where offensive actions can be taken - Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk. This could complicate our defense, allow the enemy to plan offensives, and worsen our situation in the areas of Klishchiivka, Andriivka and Kurdyumivka.

 - Perhaps they intensified the offensive not only because of the upcoming elections but also because of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, didn't they?

- They are tied to all dates - New Year's Eve or the anniversary of the invasion. They also like to conduct active assaults on their Defender's Day on February 23 or May 9. It all depends on their propaganda - how they present the information. When it interferes, it's a little easier for us to fight: they report on the capture of settlements, but in reality, Russian troops don't have time to capture them, so they start conducting "meat assaults", sparing neither their people nor their equipment. When there are no loud statements and their military is waging the war, it is more difficult for us to fight, because the enemy's actions become more thoughtful and cautious. But we're used to it, so we expect the enemy to act from day to day. After two years of full-scale war, it all becomes predictable. We are ready to continue fighting. There are no critical moments. We are really capable of conducting active defense.

- A year ago, the Wagnerites took part in these "meat assaults" in the Bakhmut direction. They were replaced by mobilized soldiers. What are they like in battle?

- The use of "Wagners" allowed the enemy to prepare combat-ready reserves from among the mobilized. In fact, for six months, the Wagner closed the Bakhmut direction, so the regular Russian army was practically not involved. But the "Wagners" were also different: before the full-scale invasion, they were trained and experienced, and afterward, they were recruited from among the convicts, who were not counted, shot during the withdrawal and driven forward for "meat assaults." When these ended, more professional ones were brought in. Some of them succeeded, but in general, this unit was "destroyed". But during these six months, as I said, they trained their units, brainwashed them, and set them up to believe that when they came to Ukraine, everything would be fine, they would receive high salaries, their loans would be closed, and Ukrainians were easy to defeat and there were no more Ukrainians left because only foreigners were fighting. They say that if they carry out a few successful operations, the entire defense of the Ukrainian army will collapse. The Russians on the "wings" of this propaganda initially conduct assaults more fervently - until the first losses, and when they begin to realize that things are not as easy as they were told at the training ground - part of the unit is killed or wounded, medical care is not particularly good, and hospitals have to wait in lines - their opinions change. Their moods are also monitored. But they are still sent forward without being counted. It's easier to have them die, to report them as missing, and then spend several years trying to figure out where they are and not pay compensation. Most of the time, they are not taken from the battlefield but left there. This, of course, is demotivating. But with a certain presentation of information, it generates even more hostility and hatred for the Armed Forces. Then some people become "500ths," while others continue to fight with even more enthusiasm. But, as a rule, about 40 percent begin to sabotage offensive actions, run away from units, do not follow orders exactly, for example, somewhere in the middle of the road they report that they have suffered heavy losses and retreat. 

- Do they surrender?

- It all depends on when the unit arrives. The fresh ones try not to do this. There were cases when they blew themselves up with grenades, tried to pretend to be dead and crawled out to their own at night. But their victorious mood is gradually decreasing. During our counterattacks, they are captured when they realize they cannot escape. They are intimidated by their people that in Ukrainian captivity they will be abused by the fascists - killed and shot. Propaganda in action.

- Did you personally communicate with any of the prisoners?

- I communicated with Russian prisoners for the first six months of the full-scale war. Now other officers are doing this. There is an interrogation protocol, certain procedures that are used to obtain primary information that is of interest to our unit. Then these prisoners are handed over to the relevant authorities.

- I ask you about this because I wonder what kind of tales they tell now. In the beginning, they said they didn't know where they were going, that they were on a training exercise...

- The enemy knows where he is going. About 30 per cent are fighting because they really believe in Russian propaganda. The rest are fighting for money to pay off loans, to get their families to a better region. Once captured, they did not say that they did not know anything. They said that they were just drivers, never shot at Ukrainian soldiers, were engaged in supply, but the military ran out of soldiers, so they were sent to participate in assault operations, although they did not want to and refused, they were threatened with execution, so they had to go. So they went to surrender immediately. This is a standard story used by ruscists to cover up their actions and war crimes. 

- And how are the Russians equipped and armed?

- Compared to the first months of the full-scale war, the number of equipment and artillery has decreased, as well as the number of shots fired in our direction, but it is at a fairly high level. There is not much new equipment, and the old one is being restored so that it can be used in some kind of combat operations. But even the old tank has a cannon that shoots at our positions, which is a problem. We have enough artillery. As well as ammunition - there are no critical problems. In addition, the number of drones, including FPV, has increased. They can use 10-12 of them at one position to destroy it (partially or completely) or to demotivate personnel to facilitate the work of their infantry. Weather conditions permitting, FPV drones can strike very accurately. They also have more powerful Lancet-type UAVs and try to fly them in depth to hit our armored vehicles and artillery.

- What is our situation with supplies? What are we lacking? As I understand it, most of all, drones.

- Drones, ammunition, artillery are always in short supply. There is no such thing as too much of them. All these means save the life of an infantryman. We buy drones. Many companies are engaged in their production. It's just that it's not very well publicized. In fact, there are a lot of manufacturers. Yes, there is no one big factory, but there are small enterprises and workshops. The state also buys them - it receives drones centrally, although, of course, not in the quantity we would like. I think that in every unit that introduces modern means in its work, the soldiers begin to assemble them on their own.

- The Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has just called on Ukrainians to join the project of building FPV drones at home. What do you think about this? Are you, as a military officer, ready to use such drones made by non-professionals at home? After all, they can be dangerous.

- If such a drone gets to us, our specialists will check it and modify it. Even the worst drone is needed at the front. As for the statement about the production of drones, there is no critical problem here. The Ministry of Defense must develop uniform requirements that this drone must meet: how far it can fly, what minimum charge it must carry, what kind of camera it must have, etc. I think the number of manufacturers will increase significantly. There is demand in the market. If the price is set and a warranty is provided, everyone will be interested in producing them. In fact, it is not as difficult as it seems.

- We have another problem in the army - staff shortages. The government still hasn't dealt with the draft law on mobilization. And the war continues. How acute is the issue of replacing the military now?

- We have enough forces and means to conduct active defense. But mobilization is necessary. We are waiting for the law to be passed. Some decisions during this process will be unpopular. Perhaps someone's ratings will go down. However, if we want to preserve our integrity and country, we need to act. After some time, it may be too late. The people who are now at the front have tremendous combat experience that they can share with those who are being mobilized. There is no need to delay because the new fighters must undergo a serious training course to avoid the mistakes of 2014 or the beginning of the full-scale invasion when untrained personnel had to be used. Yes, they were motivated and learned quickly. But today we have to conclude that. It will be a crime if a newly mobilized soldier is immediately sent to a combat zone. He must undergo a full course of individual and group training, and take up combat positions with experienced soldiers. Only then can they be replaced in the front-line units.

- How often have you encountered untrained fighters in the past? Did you train them on the spot?

- Untrained people came to our 4th Rubizh Operational Brigade at the beginning of a full-scale war. Those who knew how to hold a weapon joined the army and were sent to the front line in a week because the situation was critical. Almost the whole country was at war then. The untrained had to be distributed among experienced fighters in different units, where they were involved in secondary tasks: bringing up ammunition, equipping positions, and being second in command of group weapons. In other words, at the first stage, they performed an auxiliary function. They saw how the fire was conducted, maneuvers were carried out and communicated between battles, which gave results. If a completely unprepared unit is involved in performing tasks, it will not be stable and will suffer losses in both positions and personnel. This will not lead to anything good.

- How can we motivate people to join the army?

- These are three main areas: decent social, medical and financial security. If a man goes to the front or to the army to begin with, his family must be provided for so that he can focus on fighting and not think about what his children will eat or how the family will pay the utility bills. This is the minimum. When a serviceman joins a unit, the task of commanders is to work with him properly, to show him by example, to provide experienced sergeants who will explain everything and encourage him to study. The basic rule is that if you want to survive, you need to learn. Everyone needs to understand this. This is the only way we can replenish our ranks.

- What do you think of the evaders?

- I have a very negative attitude towards them. But this is how the whole society should react, first of all. Because my personal opinion will not influence a draft dodger who wants to escape. However, many people react positively to the actions of those who evade military service. For some people, the evader is "good for him for not going, why does he need it, let him save his life, it's better to go to prison than to the front". But society should condemn the fact that men of military age are running away abroad, being rude to TRC (Territorial Recruitment Centre - ed. note) representatives and avoiding draft notices. 

- There is a lot of talk now that even civilians are tired of the war. Do you feel a contrast between what the home front was like a year ago and what it is today?

- I feel it. Especially in those regions where there was no threat of occupation. Of course, when a soldier who risks his life and health every day goes on holiday to a civilian city and sees that people there have forgotten about the war, it demotivates him and can lead to conflict.

- In November 2021, you received a reward weapon from the deceased Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi that had previously belonged to Illya Kiva. Was there any bias?

- Regardless of who the gun belonged to, this is my reward. My commander assessed my performance as worthy of it. Whether Kiva or some other citizen had the gun, it made no difference. Of course, I had to clean the gun after Kiva, because it went to a fool who didn't watch it. By the way, not just one gun was seized from him - he had many. This is a worthy decision when ruscist and collaborator is stripped of his titles.

- What do you think of state awards in general? Is it an additional motivation for the military?

- For those who have just come to the war from civilian life, definitely not. Of course, it is nice for a soldier with combat experience to receive awards. But they are not for wearing. No one wears them in war. Perhaps, sometime after the war is over. These awards are for descendants - children and grandchildren. When we defend our country, write our new history about how we saved Ukraine and prevented the aggressor from seizing it, children will be pleased to see that their father or grandfather was directly involved. This is the pride of the family and the country.

Olha Moskaliuk, Censor.NET

Photos provided by Serhii Sidorin