In an interview with , the commander of the assault unit, Ruslan “Pisnya” Kachurovsky, spoke about the situation in Bakhmut, why this part of the front is important for the Russians, whether Ukrainian forces will be able to maintain control over the city, and how many people are still living under shelling.

Recently, our military has been recording videos refuting fake Russian propaganda that the Russians allegedly entered Bakhmut. Tell us about the situation in the city?

When the Russians entered Kyiv region in March, they also said that they were already taking Kyiv. The situation is the same here: they are standing somewhere in the suburbs, have entered some conditional neighborhood, and tell that they have already captured Bakhmut. The city is completely under the control of the Ukrainian military. There are street fights on the outskirts. There is no such situation here that one plantation is ours, and another kilometer away belongs to the enemy. Bakhmut is a city, so there can be 100-150 meters between positions.

The city has been bombarded with artillery since the beginning of summer. Because of this, there is a lot of destruction. In the future, it will probably be easier to demolish it and rebuild it. But at the same time, some minimal life continues. About a month ago, in Bakhmut, you could find small shops of private individuals working. And if the connection works, even to pay by card – transfer the payment from card to card (laughs).

That is, the biggest absurdity is that during active hostilities, people remain in the city, as before.

And how many people did not leave?

Many. These are not one or two families, but several thousand. In addition to old people, many young people with small children remained in Bakhmut.

How do they survive?

Residential buildings are often dilapidated. Several families who used to be neighbors can live in one basement of a five-story building. In such conditions, 10-15 people, together with children, live under shelling, without water, electricity or heating. Food brought by volunteers is prepared in cauldrons near the entrance. Our boys also always help: porridge, stew.

Volunteers come to these people every day and ask them to go. They are offered to move to other settlements, closer to central Ukraine, they are offered minimal support… I think it is better than living here under shelling, but people do not agree. People live even in Soledar, which is partly not ours anymore…

The State Emergency Service reports that on December 11, the Russians fired at the car of rescuers who were delivering a humanitarian aid to Bakhmut. Do Russians often shoot civilians and volunteers?

They don’t care at all who to shoot. They are not averse to killing anyone, be it medics in front of them, or a family of civilians, or an evacuation group. They consider everyone, including the local population, to be enemies. They don’t care about people’s lives.

Instead, Ukrainian servicemen will not open fire in those areas where there are civilians. When we see a village occupied by the occupiers and there is a suspicion that at least one civilian lives there, we no longer shoot there.

Are there any aid stations, maybe a hospital?

There are definitely victims among the population in Bakhmut. It is not the hospitals that are working, but the headquarters. There they take both the local population and the military. They provide help and move on.

We have our own evacuation. Either we take it out on our own, or “Hospitaliers” are connected. There are also other organizations that provide medical assistance. Therefore, you can contact them. Or we will take it out if possible.

What are the main tactics of the Russians during the assault on Bakhmut?

In general, artillery comes first from both sides, then the offensive. The difference is only in the number of resources involved: artillery and infantry, which is coming. We have less. But we are more effective, because we have more motivation.

And the Russians always have the same tactics: first comes artillery, aviation, various weapons, and then comes infantry. But they themselves do not understand where they are going. In two words: when there is an attack from our side, we communicate with each other, we fully learn about the operational situation. And the Russians are attacking continuously. The first part of their people suffers losses, the second part takes these losses, and a third climbs again, not even knowing the situation.

They go snoring and take the number, as brazenly as possible, for full growth. Accordingly, they receive in full. Their infantry and equipment assets now exceed ours. That is the only reason why they are successful in some priority areas for them.

Spokesmen of the Armed Forces report that in the direction of Bakhmut, the “Wagner” PMK is creating small assault groups that are trying to act in a concentrated manner.

It does not matter in which units they serve. They may be mobilized from ORDLO, or they may be mobilized from the Russian Federation, they may be prisoners from “Wagner”… We do not know “in the face” of the occupier who is going on the offensive in a single point, we do not fully understand who it is: p Janitsa from Perm, zek or fresh mobilized. In any case, none of these groups have adequate training or specialization.

In the first wave, they always let in people who are not sorry. If the first wave finds some weak spots in us, only then will they send some trained troops. That is, in general, the Russians do not spare their own, but protect the prepared resources.

How much has the fighting near Bakhmut become more active lately?

Our unit had a short break. We were in Bakhmut until the middle of August, then there was a rotation and we returned there only now (but in a slightly different direction of work). Therefore, today the situation looks completely different.

If earlier our unit was on the defensive, now other units are on the defensive, and we are trying to attack the enemy through our defense and take some of their positions. But it must be understood that this is point work, it is not about whole settlements.

What are the Russians firing at Bakhmut? Soldiers from the Avdiyiv direction say that sometimes even with prohibited phosphorous projectiles.

Yes, phosphorus is generally “normal everyday life” from Russians. That is, phosphorous, “saushki” (self-propelled artillery installations) of various calibers, “Carnation”, “Acacia”, “Mista” are fired at Bakhmut once or twice a day… The Russians are also firing at us from tanks and large-caliber mortars. When you are there, you start to understand very well.

The most unpleasant in terms of the principle of action is the Russian “Sunset”. When hitting a certain point, the “Sontsepika” projectile sprays heavy gas, which settles down – in the trenches, in the dugout. And then this projectile automatically ignites, burning out all the oxygen.

This weapon deals a lot of damage. The Russians consider “Sunsets” to be highly accurate, but, thank God, this is not the case. They don’t hit accurately and don’t get into the places you don’t want them to go.

Andriy Cherevaty, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reports that the Russians have shelled more than 200 positions in the Bakhmut region during the day. Do you agree with this assessment?

It is not entirely clear what 200 rounds are. If you mean 200 shells, it’s not enough. I think they shoot much more in a day.

The shelling is conducted in one direction by different groups of troops. That is, it can fly both from a tank and from large-caliber artillery at the same time. The opponent generally takes in numbers. They can release 200 minutes to a certain sector.

As for us, since we have a limited number of BC and motivated people, we are more focused on the result. Therefore, unlike the Russians, it is important for us not just to fire a large number of shells, but to fire them accurately to hit the enemy.

Will we be able to hold Bakhmut under such massive shelling?

I think so. Bakhmut is under us, and that will not change. I haven’t been there for about a month, I went for treatment. But you see how Bakhmut is listening.

It is clear that globally the enemy would like to seize the entire Donetsk region. And if the invaders capture Bakhmut, they will not want to stop there. Bakhmut is an important logistics point for Russians. His capture will give them access to the crossroads – the exit to the highway to Sloviansk, to the highway to Kostyantynivka.

But it is also an important position for us. Therefore, I think that we will hold. Everything will depend on the top management. If there is the same artillery and air support as now, I think everything will be fine.

Who would you single out as the main heroes of the defense now? It is clear that everyone works together, but someone stands out: is it artillery, aviation, infantry?

Well, look, everyone has their own tasks and we all work together, in a complex. Even the tasks of the person standing at the roadblock 200 km away from us are important – everyone works in communication.

Artillery, of course, is the factor without which we could not have advanced an inch. It is very difficult to hold a village without artillery. But everyone always works for the infantry. Conventionally speaking, until the infantryman arrives, the territory is not considered to be controlled by us. The infantry stands first, and it is already covered by artillery, tanks, aviation…

What, according to your observations, distinguishes, for example, the defense of Kyiv and the defense of Donbas?

Of course, I will not be able to analyze different directions in one period of time. But if you compare with Kyiv or Zaporizhzhia, where I was specifically, there are quite massive enemy attacks in the Bakhmut area.

In addition, people helped us a lot in the Kyiv region, the atmosphere was completely different. In the area of ​​active hostilities in Bakhmut, we saw people waiting for Russia. And if you go 5-7 kilometers away, there are adequate…

When we talk about winter at the front, we always have in mind the difficult conditions of conducting hostilities due to cold weather, frost outside. What is the situation with the provision of servicemen?

Compared to February, or even summer, in this respect, things have improved a lot. As for clothing and other things, the provision of the Armed Forces has reached a reprehensible level. Everything is fixed. Let’s say, logistics is now optimized: there is a clear understanding of what is needed and how many people. Volunteers only promptly close any gaps when needed.

It is definitely more difficult for the Russians. After all, we are at home.

Anastasia Svitlevska

Anastasia Svitlevska