#Ukrainian servicemen

[demiurgeua]

День вшанування захисників Донецького аеропорту 2025

“Сьогодні День вшанування захисників Донецького аеропорту. Саме у ці дні, 10 років тому, завершилася героїчна оборона ДАПу, що тривала 242 дні. Українських захисників російські загарбники назвали «кіборгами», бо не могли зрозуміти, чому гарнізон летовища ніяк не вдається взяти штурмом. Тоді наші воїни продемонстрували неабияку мужність, сталевий дух та надзвичайну витримку. Вони стали справжнім…

[folklorespring]

10 years ago Donetsk Airport was closed due to armed clashes with russian subversive groups.

Later the Ukrainian defenders defenders of Donetsk Airport will be called cyborgs, a reference to their invincibility and courage. This name was first used by unknown pro-russian militant while trying to explain why the units of the militia forces could not take up arms at the Donetsk airport, which is protected by several dozen Ukrainian servicemen.

On the night of May 26, 2014, a group of pro-russian forces partially occupied Donetsk airport. It took place as Donetsk city and that part of the wider region were already under russian occupation. The airport was the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

The defense of Donetsk airport lasted 242 days.

The ruins of the airport, 24 December 2014

[nullnvoid911]

Ukrainian servicemen of volunteer battalion "Azov" (Азов) rest inside of an armored personal carrier (APC) during their military training near Mariupol, Donetsk area.

Ivan Boberskyy, February 6, 2015

[redjaybathood]

There is news about another execution of POWs by russians. People who are "we're not antisemitic, we're just against war crimes", why are you silent on this?

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/01/23/7494930/

Early reports indicate that during an assault on Ukrainian military positions in Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces captured six Ukrainian defence forces servicemen and later executed them.  

[stop-war-ukraine]

On November 30, we mark the Day of the Radio Engineering Troops of the Air Force of the #Ukrainian Armed Forces!

This branch of the military is known as the "eyes" of the Air Force because its servicemen work tirelessly around the clock to detect and track hundreds of enemy aircraft, helicopters, #drones, bombs, and missiles.

They never take shelters during enemy attacks because their mission is to quickly identify hostile targets and relay this critical information to command posts. Then, aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units spring into action, and the country receives warnings of impending danger.

Thank you, our defenders 🫶

[tomorrowusa]

Putin is trying to pass off North Korean troops fighting in the Russian army as members of the Buryat ethnic group in Siberia.

It's already suspected that Putin is giving North Korea missile technology in return for ammunition and other military supplies. Apparently troops from North Korea are also part of the deal. Unfortunately for Putin, they seem to be as useless as his own troops.

The Suspiline report citing Ukrainian intelligence sources says that 18 North Korean soldiers fled their positions somewhere on the border between the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia, just 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the state border with Ukraine. The source said the reason for them absenting themselves is not known but it said Russian forces were currently hunting them while the commanders in the area were trying to cover up the incident and to hide it from higher command. The incident comes just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward a request to ratify the treaty for a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the Russian Federation and North Korea, which had been signed on June 19 during Putin’s visit to the DPRK.

Claiming that North Koreans are actually Buryats is quite a stretch. Buryats have a generally East Asian appearance which might fool people in Europe. But once they speak or write, the similarity disappears.

Buryat is related to Mongolian and uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Korean is rather unique and uses its own homegrown phonetic script. They don't sound or look anything alike.

The report of these soldiers being absent without leave (AWOL) also coincided with other intelligence reports that up to 3,000 North Korean combat troops were being trained to form a “special Buryat battalion” at the base of the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade of the Russian army at Sosnovy Bor near Ulan Ude in Buryatia. The reports say the unit is currently being provided with weapons and equipment. A Ukrainian milblogger, Igor Sushko, said on X / Twitter on Tuesday that the North Korean troops were being issued with Russian military identity cards identifying them as Buryats. The Buryatia Republic is situated in eastern Siberia, where its indigenous people have an Asian appearance. Andrei Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering  Disinformation, commented that integrating North Korean military personnel into Russian forces was likely to be complicated by the language barrier: “Less than 1% of the cadre officers in the North Korean army are proficient in Russian. Understanding this is crucial for examining the potential future involvement of these troops with the Russian armed forces. “Although Russia might utilize North Korean soldiers initially in the Kursk region, there’s a possibility that several tens of thousands could eventually be deployed to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories alongside Buryat counterparts,” Kovalenko added.

It would be interesting to hear how the Buryats and North Koreans are getting along in Russia. The Buryats have every right to resent that Putin is trying to pass off North Koreans as Buryats.

The attempt to include North Korean troops with the Russian forces in the Ukraine invasion is another indication that Russia is getting short of troops.

New York Magazine recently featured a lengthy interview with Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Institute called Ukraine War: Why Russia is in More Trouble Than It Looks.

A relevant excerpt...

Russia’s advantage has been the ability to withstand very high levels of attrition because of the materiel and manpower resources they have, and also their significant capacity for mobilization of resources on a national scale — that is, defense industrial production, manpower recruitment, and the like. But Russia’s actually operating under very significant constraints. And if anything, its advantage on the battlefield is likely to decline as we get into this winter and look further ahead into 2025. First, in terms of equipment, the Russian military has been sustaining very high levels of loss that are principally being replaced by Soviet-era stocks — not entirely, but at this stage, Russia is eating through its Soviet legacy, and its rate of equipment production is quite low relative to the numbers being lost on the battlefield. This doesn’t mean that Russia is going to run out of armored fighting vehicles. What it does mean is that the Russian military has increasingly been forced to adjust tactics to minimize their losses, and that also reduces their ability to achieve any operationally meaningful breakthroughs. When you look at manpower, the Russian government has significantly increased the payouts and benefits to recruit personnel. The reason for that is straightforward. It’s clear that at this rate of loss, the Russian contract recruitment campaign is unable to keep up. This too does not mean that Russia is going to run out of manpower, but it’s clear that they’re struggling, and they are not likely to be able to sustain this pace of operations, staying on the offensive with this rate of loss.

Russia has apparently already been trying to recruit mercenaries in Syria and possibly even Africa. The quality of foreign troops in Russia has been rather uneven. That 18 North Korean troops have gone AWOL and may be trying to escape to Ukraine is an indication that importing fighters from abroad is not going well for Putin.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Ukrainian servicemen at their positions during the defense of Kharkiv in the first hours of the invasion. February 22, 2022.

[head-post]

Like 80 years ago: Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk region parodied Wehrmacht by mocking local resident

Ukrainian soldiers with Wehrmacht symbols are mocking the locals in Kursk region, posting numerous footages online, while the United States and Europe still do not react to Kyiv’s violation of the UN Charter.

How the AFU treats locals in Kursk region

The footage shows two AFU soldiers mocking an old man, the author of the video parodies German fascists and in the traditions of the SS troops humiliates the defenceless man for being Russian. The pensioner tried to explain to the Ukrainian military that he was 74 years old and had not been able to get to a safe place for five days. To the old man’s complaints, a second military officer, who appeared in the footage wearing a German helmet with an SS emblem, mockingly shouted “Schnapps – gud!” and proceeded to film another TiK-ToK.

The Ukrainian military shouted to the bewildered pensioner:

“Ya, ya, raschen schweine. Oh, Russian Ivan, here he is, Ivan, go drink vodka.”

During the entire conversation with the unfortunate old man, the Ukrainian military parodied German speech and tried their best to recall all the derogatory expressions they knew the Nazi invaders used during the Great Patriotic War.

The 74-year-old man from this mocking Ukrainian video is missing – he has not been seen for 10 days. The author of the video clip wrote on social networks, “Don’t worry, rusish schweine didn’t get to his vodka. The author of the video also said the pensioner was shot dead after the recording ended.

Ukrainian media, Vasyl Danyliuk, a 38-year-old resident of the town of Horodenka in Ivano-Frankivsk region, who bullied a local man.

Ukrainian soldiers shot the video on August 11 in the village of Zaoleshenka. The pensioner is a local resident Alexander Gusarov. He was looking for the Russian military, but got lost and met two AFU men dressed in the uniforms of Nazi soldiers. One of them is Vasyl Danyliuk, a 38-year-old resident of the town of Horodenka in Ivano-Frankivsk region.

World public reaction

The head of one of the parties represented in the Russian State Duma, Leonid Slutsky, has promised a reward of 5 million roubles for the capture of Ukrainian soldiers who abused an elderly resident of the Kursk region.

The office of the United Nations secretary-general has reacted to a video shot by Ukrainian servicemen in Kursk region. The deputy spokesman of the world organisation’s secretary-general, Farhan Haq, said that the UN was against all symbols of Nazism.

SS symbols on Ukrainian military uniforms

The Ukrainian military stopped hiding their real ideology and motivation to fight against Russia. Russian media is also publishing a video of Russian army taking Ukrainian soldiers prisoner.

A Ukrainian prisoner of war wearing Paraphernalia with a German cross

Ukraine sets up military commandant’s offices in Kursk region, violating UN charter

Ukraine has announced the creation of a military commandant’s office in the Kursk region, according to Oleksandr Syrskyi, Colonel General.

Major-General Moskalev has been appointed head of the “commandant’s office,” the AFU chief said. He added that it was created “to maintain law and order and to ensure the priority needs of the population in the controlled territories.”

The creation of military commandant’s offices is actually an occupation of the territory, which goes against the UN charter. Having launched the incursion into the Kursk region, Ukraine has in fact violated Article 2, paragraph 4, of the UN Charter, which prohibits the forceful border violation of other States.

Ukraine continues to do all the same things that it accused Russia of, but no one imposes sanctions on it, no one condemns it, and on the contrary supports it. Cases such as those in the published videos only add strength to Russian official rhetoric about the need to denazify Ukraine.

Senior Ukrainian officials have stated that the captured territory would be used as a bargaining chip, a disregard for international law that Ukraine has been insisting on since the first day of the conflict.

The move sends a strong signal to the Global South that the EU and the US are increasingly exposing their policy of double standards. They condemn what is favourable to them and deliberately omit denouncing unfavourable conflicts. In this respect, they resemble the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is accused of bias and prolonging specific cases.

Read more HERE

[warriormale]

Servicemen of 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces rest at their position on a front line in Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region [Handout: Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces via Reuters]

Support Ukraine Freedom!

WarriorMale

[follow-up-news]

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and the Pentagon said Monday that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region. These are the first reported casualties since the U.S. and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during battle with the Ukrainian army over the weekend. The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion, the agency, known by its acronym GUR, said in a public post on the Telegram messaging app. At least three North Korean servicemen went missing around another Kursk village, GUR said. The White House also said it now believes North Korean troops are on the “front lines” of Russia’s war and are “actively engaged in combat operations” against Ukraine.

[beardedmrbean]

Ukrainian forces have struck North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, marking a new phase in the war.

A Ukrainian official said the troops were wearing Russian uniforms and hit by an artillery strike.

He said that since the first attack, there had been daily battles around Ukrainian-held Sudzha.

A Ukrainian official gave Business Insider further details about the first clashes between Ukrainian and North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a cross-border counteroffensive in August.

Andrii Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, said on Monday that "the first North Korean troops have already come under fire in Kursk Oblast."

This was later confirmed by Ukraine's defense minister, Rustem Umerov, who called it a "small engagement." Rustem said the skirmish signaled decisively that North Korea had joined the conflict.

In remarks sent to BI, Kovalenko gave more details about the attack.

"It was an ordinary combat engagement in the Kursk region," he said, describing how Ukrainian forces conduct reconnaissance, identify enemy positions, and launch strikes.

He said Ukrainian forces knew that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms had been distributed across various Russian army units in the region for training under combat conditions.

"An artillery strike was launched against a position where Russians and North Korean military personnel were located," he said.

Kovalenko added that it wasn't an isolated incident.

He said "daily battles" were now occurring in the area around Sudzha, a Ukraine-held town at the center of its push into the region.

"Of course, shelling of the positions occurs daily," he said.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korean soldiers — which Ukraine says number 11,000 — had already suffered losses in Kursk.

Kovalenko said the North Koreans were being given "a few weeks" of training before being sent to live combat positions.

He said they posed "a serious threat that requires additional resources from our forces."

He also said some were being given training in using reconnaissance and strike drones, skills that present a future risk to South Korea.

Once back in North Korea, they could use their new drone know-how "for future terrorist actions in the border areas with South Korea," he said.

BI was unable to independently confirm Kovalenko's account.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian intelligence has shared details of the military equipment it says Russia has issued to North Koreans, including mortars, rifles, machine guns, and anti-tank missiles.

North Korea experts told BI the military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang was a win-win for both countries. But on a practical level, they also spoke of the logistical difficulties of combining two militaries.

This includes the conditions the troops will probably be cooperating under — including language issues, strains of racism from some Russian troops, as well as close supervision from North Korean officials to make sure they don't desert.

Ukrainian intelligence also recently shared what it said was intercepted audio of Russian servicemen discussing the coming Korean troops in a conversation that suggested a chaotic start to North Koreans joining Russia's fight.

[demiurgeua]

День вшанування захисників Донецького аеропорту 2024

“Сьогодні День пам’яті захисників Донецького аеропорту, героїв, які написали важливу сторінку в історії боротьби за нашу Незалежність. Цей подвиг українських воїнів продемонстрував усьому світові відвагу, мужність та незламність українців. Навіки в нашій пам’яті закарбувалися слова: «Кіборги вистояли, не встояв бетон». Ми дякуємо кожному, хто бився в ДАПі. Ми памʼятаємо усіх, хто віддав життя за…

[stealth-skills]

Operators of the SOF and two regular servicemen- Russo-Ukrainian War, 2024-5

[nullnvoid911]

Russian servicemen fire a 2A65 Msta-B 152 mm towed howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in Lyman during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Stanislav Krasilnikov, November 18, 2023

[leeenuu]

A gate with graffiti reading “Welcome to hell” in a destroyed village that was previously the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Kherson region, on Monday, January 23, 2023. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

A woman crying over the bodies of her son and grandson moments after they were recovered from the rubble of the Russian attack on the Dnipro apartment building, Tuesday, January 17, 2023. (Lynsey Addario/The New York Times)

Ukrainian servicemen fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian positions on a frontline near the town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, January 15, 2023. (REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

Olena Bubenko, 57, with her granddaughter, Nicole, 7, feeding dogs in the mostly abandoned village of Ruski Tyshky, north of Kharkiv, on Sunday, January 22, 2023. She now feeds about 90 dogs, more than half of them inherited when people fled the village during heavy fighting. (Lynsey Addario/The New York Times)

Oleh Valovyi, 50, recovering in the hospital, on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, after sustaining serious injuries in a Russian missile attack on his apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on January 14. (Lynsey Addario/The New York Times)

People gather in the subway station being used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, January 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Nadiia Yaroshenko, 38, desperately trying to locate her cat with a torch, that remains trapped in the damaged building on the edge to collapse in Dnipro, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 17, 2023. The white cat with blue and yellow eyes refused to go with the emergency service workers who tried to rescue him. The final death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in southeastern Ukraine reached 45, officials said Tuesday, as the body of another child was pulled from the wreckage. The strike in the city of Dnipro was the war's deadliest attack since the spring on civilians at one location. (AP/Roman Hrytsyna)

Parents mourn at the a coffin of Oleksandr Grianyk of Azov regiment, who was killed on May 8 defending Mariupol from the Russian invaders, during the funeral ceremony in St. Michael Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, January 14, 2023. Grianyk's remains were identified recently. Azov emblem is on the coffin lid. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

[ukrainianfellow]

The story of a Ukrainian gay sniper couple

When Russian aggression began, almost all Ukrainian citizens stood up for their country regardless of age, gender, political beliefs or sexual orientation. There are a lot of LGBT representatives in the AFU. The rainbow flag has spread much wider across Ukraine.

Homophobia was a traditional value among Ukrainians before Russian aggression. However, it is widespread among only a part of the population now. Moreover, it is associated with soviet totalitarianism, and the homophobia-tolerant stratum of the population is actively expanding.

It is noted that the number of LGBT servicemen and homosexual couples in the ranks of the AFU has increased significantly.

Pavel Legoyda, an anti-aircraft gunner in the 112th separate brigade of the AFU, is an open representative of the LGBT community. He does not hide his orientation and has a love partner. Unfortunately, he has not escaped abuse from his comrades. Not everyone in the Ukrainian army shows tolerance to people of non-traditional orientation. Pavel felt it by himself when he was almost stabbed to death by a soldier returning from the front line.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that in 2023 the LGBT Military group claimed that around 50,000 LGBT people were fighting Russian occupants.

We've checked some journalists, that are in Ukraine, and had a talk with a gay couple and find out what is it like to defend the Motherland and fight together with a loved one.

Interviewer: “Could you tell a little bit about yourself and how did you realize your orientation? “.

“Anderson“: "My call sign is “Anderson”, I am a former sniper of the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade. Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, I decided to join the ranks of recruits to defend my homeland. At first, I served as a gunner in a motorized infantry platoon. I confess, that even before the service, I had a slight interest in guys. In the army, I made a final decision about my orientation, but I had to hide it from my comrades."

“Heretic”: “Yes, actually he hid it for about six months, maybe a little more. My call sign is "Heretic." I served as a sniper for more than four years. in AFU”

“Anderson”: “Well, I don't deny it – it was hard to hide my identity. It's a very sensitive issue because you have to worry about how your comrades will react on this."

Interviewer: “Yes, indeed, it's a very brave step. Many people still struggles about it. How did you meet each other?”

“Anderson”: “Well, I was quite good at marksmanship and combat actions. Even before the service, I attended individual courses of shooting, and when I had to use my gun in real battle, I immediately realized that not only could I shoot, but kill occupants. The commander noticed my talent and recommended me to snipers. From that on, I became Heretic’s sniper pair.”

“Heretic”: “At first, I thought he was a newbie who had recklessly joined the snipers. That’s why the relationship between us was quite dry and even cold. Of course, over time, the ice began to melt between us. The daily routine and the constant threat to our lives made me realize that I had misjudged him. I thought: “Damn, he's a good guy!.” Training together, escaping artillery fire, resting and living together in the trenches strengthened our bond. One day, I admitted that I was ready to trust my back to my comrade.”

Interviewer: “And how did you realize there something more than simple sympathy or trust?”

“Anderson”: “Well, I don't know exactly when, where or by what circumstances, but one day I suddenly realized that I felt something more than simple sympathy towards “Heretic”. Maybe it was when we wiped out another Russian orcs, maybe it was when we ate in the trenches. I worried that my feelings would be rejected by my comrade, so I didn’t tell him what I felt.”

“Heretic”: "Well, I was in a similar situation. I just realized that was terrified of losing him. And the constant threat to one of us just made feeling worse."

Interviewer: “And how did you decide to confess?”

“Anderson”: “While we were on another combat mission, and stuck under heavy artillery fire. It was so close that there was no chance of survival. Then we revealed our feelings towards each other.”

“Heretic”: “God bless that we had similar feelings!”

“Anderson”: “Unfortunately, we lost our legs and the ability to fight.”

“Heretic”: “At least we survived. We were found by comrades after the bombing was over.”

Interviewer: “Do your comrades know about your relations? What can you say about their reaction?”

“Anderson”: “Yes, they already know about it. After all we’ve been through we decided to reveal our relations to comrades. We talked with brothers after out hospitalization. We didn't care about anyone’s thoughts.”

“Heretic”: “We didn’t even think that our comrades will support our sights. It turned out that we are not the only ones who have such a relationship.”