#DONBASS#FROMTHEFRONT 18.10.2016 - 3,901 views
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War in Donbass: Motorola’s
Greatest Battles
Original by Yevgeniy Norin published by Sputnik
and Pogrom; Translated by J.Hawk exclusively for SouthFront
Arseniy
Pavlov, better known as Motorola, the commander of Sparta Battalion of DPR
militia, was killed in still unclear circumstances. The Republic lost not only
a brave soldier, but one of the best and most successful tactical commanders.
One often hears that Motorola was overrated as a commander, that he was liked
by the media, but did not distinguish himself on the battlefield. That is
incorrect. Sparta, with Motorola at its head, is a hard-fighting unit, the
“fire brigade” of Novorossiya’s armed forces, fighting on the most important
sectors of the front.
Slavyansk
On
May 20, 2014, Ukrainian journalist Aleksandr Gorobets announced that a
separatist unit near Kramatorsk is being commanded by a…LifeNews reporter. The
idea was crazy, and it soon became evident that the voice in the video belonged
to a militiaman. That was the first time the public heard the “Motorola”
callsign.
Little
is known about the insurgent commander prior to the Donbass war. Born in Komi,
he served in the Naval Infantry and fought in Chechnya long before the Donbass.
He came to Ukraine already in February of 2014, spent some time in Zaporozhye,
Nikopol, Donetsk, and Kharkov. He was one of the first to come to Slavyansk in
April 2014, where he quickly headed up an independent unit.
His
rapid advance to a command post was due to a whole range of circumstances.
First of all, Motorola was one of the few militiamen to not only have served in
the army, but also fought. Militia had few cadre officers, and the logic of the
insurgency naturally elevated people possessed of individual charisma and
fighting abilities.
Motorola’s
unit operated as a mobile anti-tank reserve. Slavyansk garrison had very few
heavy weapons so creating a separate mobile unit able to counter armor wherever
it appeared was a natural and necessary decision. The unit parried UAF attacks,
moving up and down the line. That’s when the backbone of the future “Sparta”
was formed. The unit played a crucial role during the fighting around
Semyonovka and Nikolayevka. Semyonovka is a village on the eastern periphery of
Slavyansk, while Nikolayevka is even further to the east. Since efforts to
break into Slavyansk through frontal assaults failed, Ukrainian command wisely
decided to bypass the city and encircle it. The way to Slavyansk from the east
passed right through Semyonovka, which is why it was a site of a pitched battle
on June 3.
The
battle started with an artillery bombardment, with guns of every caliber, from
mortars to heavy artillery, hitting the village. Then infantry and tanks attacked.
The operation’s aim was self-evident: the capture of Semyonovka would quickly
isolate all of Slavyansk. The attack was carried out by a battalion from the
95th Airmobile Brigade, supported by National Guard, attack aircraft, and
helicopters.
But the steamroller assault did not result in a
breakthrough. Infantry was pinned down by fire, however, the tanks literally
crushed militia positions, destroying individual field fortifications. The
arrival of the anti-tank reserve, with Motorola in command, helped stave off
disaster. The attack was repelled, tanks were stopped by RPGs, anti-tank
missiles, and even sniper rifles targeting the optics. Seven militiamen were
killed, and these were very heavy losses by the standard of the early phase of
the war, but the village was held. Militia’s defeat and UAF’s breakthrough into
Semyonovka would have made the rapid fall of Slavyansk inevitable.
Motorola’s troops were fated to appear in the right
place at the right time on one more occasion. It was in early July, when the
UAF nearly surrounded Slavyansk. The anti-tank unit was holding Nikolayevka,
some 12km east of Slavyansk. Since one militia group, under the command of
“Minyor”, abandoned positions without being ordered to do so, Nikolayevka’s
fate hung in the balance. There was a desperate fight in the village during all
of June 2, with Motorola’s troops, the unit commanded by “Machete”, and one
other small militia group, succeeding in retaining control over the village but
with UAF bypassing and outflanking both Slavyansk and Nikolayevka. Further
defense made no sense, and Motorola’s unit, which covered the retreat, found
itself encircled. But Motorola managed to find a way out by a different way,
preserving the unit and its weapons.
The Endless Summer
The fall of Slavyansk did not mean the end of the
war and did not change Motorola’s men status. The offensive by the fully
deployed UAF required swift reaction, particularly since the militia could not
perform a large-scale mobilization and was not very numerous. Motorola was
wounded in July but soon returned to the front lines. The early August was
spent in the fighting over Minusinsk, a town through which the UAF wanted to
advance in order to reach the road linking Donetsk and Lugansk. But the
cruelest of all was the fighting in Ilovaysk. In August, after the smashing of
the UAF southern cauldron, UAF command modified its plans and tried to advance
bypassing Donetsk through Ilovaysk. This was a realistic plan, and a very
dangerous one to DPR: if it succeeded, UAF would have surrounded Donetsk, which
would have been fatal to the people’s republics. The first attempt to
break into the city using volunteer battalions failed completely, but that did
not discourage UAF commanders. Interestingly, UAF staffs did not consider
taking Ilovaysk a difficult task. One battalion commander was literally told
“enough work for one day.” UAF started the operation on August 12.
Pitched street fights commenced on August 19. Ukrainian forces were a stew of
various brigades and volunteer battalions. Motorola’s unit marched to aid
Ilovaysk’s garrison. Nearly all UAF forces present in the area were drawn into
the street fighting. The offensive was stalemated. The assault group was not
very numerous, there were no reserves. Both sides relied heavily on artillery
and Grad rockets. Nobody counted on receiving quarter from the other side: one
side was represented by Motorola’s troops and what would become the Somali
Battalion, while the other side by volunteer battalions. Interestingly, all the
talk (or, rather, screaming) about “treason” began already during the street
fighting phase, when there was no discussion of Russian forces operating in the
area at all. Ukrainian troops fortified themselves in the school building,
railcar depot, and the firefighting unit, which gave them control over a
sizable portion of the city, but could not advance further. Militia’s constant
counterattacks made it impossible for the enemy to move. Moreover, Azov and
Shakhtyorsk troops at some point simply left the battlefield and ran away to
Mariupol. There was no clear front line running from the city, UAF did not
completely blockade Ilovaysk, so militia could bring reinforcements. Ilovaysk
is cut in two by a railroad and, at risk of some oversimplification, one could
say that on August 24 the UAF held the northern part, and the militia the
southern.
The role of Motorola’s force and other forces
consisted of, in essence, holding out until the “cavalry”, or forces enveloping
UAF units from the flanks, arrived. In late August, the militia and Russian
forces carried out a swift operation that crushed the flanks and rear areas of
the Ukrainian force at Ilovaysk. Militia units broke UAF resistance in the city
itself. This was the culminating event of the whole war: within a few days, the
UAF suffered the heaviest losses in the entire period of its existence and for
a while lost the ability to offer organized resistance. Motorola’s contribution
to this battle cannot be overestimated. Even though only comparably small
forces operated in the city, a few hundred troops on each side, the resilience
of Ilovaysk’s defenders pinned down UAF forces around the city and allowed the
flanking envelopment to be prepared, against which the UAF’s resistance proved
very weak. August was the turning point: the UAF did not conduct any other
major offensive operations after that.
Donetsk Airport
One of the heaviest tests the battalion passed was
the Donetsk Airport battle. The actual beginning of active operations against
this UAF defensive stronghold was in the fall, with only sporadic attacks
taking place earlier. But the defeat of Ukrainian forces at Ilovaysk and a
series of operations between Novoazovsk and Lugansk totally changed the
situation. Now this UAF redoubt, wedged into Donetsk city boundaries, became
the main point of confrontation. Fighting here never stopped, in spite of the
declared ceasefire, and its intensity remained high throughout the fall and
winter. Various UAF airmobile brigades occupied positions at the airport. They
were located in the terminal buildings, while all the approaches to the airport
and its unoccupied buildings were mined. Since the UAF had both the buildings
and the flight control tower, it made it possible for them to effectively
direct artillery fire which was the mainstay of the lengthy defense. Supplying
the garrison became an insoluble problem: UAF units had to travel a long
distance, in the open, in order to deliver fuel, food, munitions, and
reinforcements. These caravans, naturally, defended themselves well, they were
accompanied by tanks which fired on the move, with artillery providing
suppressive fires on militia positions. Sparta was assigned a most unpleasant
task. Since the outskirts of the airport were under constant observation and
fire, assaulting the terminals was not an easy task. Militiamen gradually
fortified themselves around the terminals and made several attempts to storm
them. But they were not able to maintain their gains. Nevertheless, they
gradually encroached on the positions from the flanks, isolating UAF troops
from the outside world. Motorola, as battalion commander, participated in these
events and suffered at least one wound, from a machine-gun bullet to the arm.
Even though the UAF controlled airport’s main
buildings during September and October, they were gradually destroyed by
artillery and tank fire. Although the terminals were sturdily built, they were
becoming less and less suitable for defense. Ukrainian positions were fired on
by rapidly maneuvering tanks which terrorized the defenders. Although the UAF
was formally in control of the airport in September and December, by winter UAF
troops found themselves in mortal danger. The old terminal collapsed from
artillery damage, and only the new terminal and tower remained. Naturally, it
was clear on the Ukrainian side of the front lines that the danger was
increasing. UAF commanders would later claim that a new defensive line
was being prepared behind the runway, but they simply did not manage to
withdraw the troops there. On the other hand, the multi-month control of the
airport gave birth to the legend about “invincible cyborgs,” while the UAF
command pursued ambitious plans to expand its zone of control by capturing
Spartak (north-east of the airport) and buildings to the west. But neither
initiative came to pass, because Sparta and Somali put an end to the UAF’s
airport defense. The assault teams carried out lengthy training sessions before
the attack, rehearsing cooperation with tanks, assault engineers, artillery,
and one another.
On January 13 came the decisive assault on the
airport. Militia blew up terminal roof using a demolition charge, tanks topped
the tower, and assault teams entered the new terminal.
If autumn fighting brought Sparta and Somali heavy
losses on the approaches to the terminals, now the success was bought at far
lower cost. Militiamen instantly reached passenger wings on the other side of
the building, isolating the garrison from reinforcements. Soldiers on higher
floors could still leave the building at night, but for still unclear reason
most of Ukrainians remained inside. As a result, after several days of attacks
and counter-attacks, the militia ended the assault using a classical methods.
Sections with Ukrainian troops were mined, using several tons of TNT. The
explosion killed or wounded all the remaining defenders. A little more than a
dozen wounded were found under the wreckage, it took several months to discover
all the corpses.
Donetsk airport was the site of the last major
battle by Sparta. After the winter campaign of 2015, there were no more
decisive operations in Novorossiya, though positional fighting went on along
nearly the entire front. The battalion continued to actively train, however,
the burst of activity during the winter of 2015 is so far its last major
battle. Sparta still exists, though very many of its troops, veterans of not
only Slavyansk but also the airport battle, already left the Donbass or left
service.
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Sparta Battalion Troops
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Motorola, Arseniy Pavlov, provided an
irreproachable example of a military career during a time of troubles. While
not a career officer though a talented fighter, he was able to create one of
the most battleworthy units of Novorossiya Armed Forces. One of the
peculiarities of irregular warfare is that command posts are quickly occupied,
thanks to their personal qualities, by people who could have never made a
brilliant career in peacetime military. Motorola, of course, was a tactical
commander, he lacked the training to command larger bodies of troops. But he
never aspired to command large formations and was successful at commanding
smaller ones. As a tactical commander, Motorola was in the right place.
Moreover, he always commanded units that suffered from shortages of everything:
heavy weapons, communications, even boots and camo. Motorola was a commander
who could, using a few single-shot RPGs, an AT rifle, and an ancient ATGM
launcher, organize an effective anti-tank defense. He later demonstrated the
ability to organize an offensive operation pursuing a decisive outcome. No matter
how hard the opposing side is trying to demonstrate its contempt for this
auto-didact without a systematic military education, during the winter
fighting of 2015, it was the career officers who were thoroughly trounced in
battle–and they lost to, among others, this man.
It is characteristic that war, judging by
everything, was home to Motorola, an environment where he felt the best. Pavlov
not once tried to make a political career or to find a warm spot in the boss’s
cabinet. He was, first and foremost, a soldier, though one who looked out of
place in the regular army–such commanders are invariably elevated by
revolutionary wars and insurgencies. Jokers who are making anecdotes about a
car washer heading a battalion simply don’t know history. Nobody jokes about
Jean Lannes, a peasant who became a Napoleonic marshal, or about Nathaniel
Greene, a blacksmith and a famous general of the US Revolutionary War. Motorola
justly belongs among those commanders who made their own name.The militia lost
one of the best and most extraordinary fighters.
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://southfront.org/motorolas-greatest-battles/
Texas:
Who killed Motorola and why? I'll tell you ...
October
17th, 2016 - Fort Russ News -
-
Analysis - By: Russel "Texac" Bentley, in Donetsk, DPR - Feature –
So,
Saker, Southfront, and Shary are saying things don't add up with the Motorola
hit. Maybe, from their perspectives thousands of kilometers from where it
happened. But I'm about 500 meters from where it happened, and here's my take -
1) There have been 2 previous attempts on
Motorola's life in the last 6 months. At the hospital in June, and behind his
apartment building in August. Somebody's been out to get him for a while.
Whoever killed him had tried at least twice before, and failed. Sparta has
their own intelligence unit, and connections to the intelligence services of
the DNR. If someone here was out to get him, and had already tried twice,
Motorola would have had a real good idea of who it was. If it was someone from
the DNR side, he would have known there was no way they wouldn't eventually get
him. It would have been certain suicide for him to stay, as well as risking the
lives of his wife and kids. He could easily have "pulled a Strelkov"
and moved to Crimea and retired to write his memoirs, exposing whatever
traitors he thought had it in for him. But he didn't. I've seen him several
times, strolling with his wife and baby in the city center, shopping, going to
the gym. Not what he'd have been doing if he thought he had to worry about
getting it in the back from his comrades or leaders. Not at all. He was
fearless, but not stupid by a long shot. Especially with the lives of his wife
and kids.
2) Zaharchenko trusted Motorola enough to send him
and Sparta to the LNR to safeguard Plotnitsky during/after the coup attempt.
That's a big responsibility. One not likely given to someone you were planning
to kill, and someone you had tried to kill twice already.
3) "High security building"? I've been in
that building more than once myself. They have Babushkas guarding the door, not
MGB or Sparta. It is a multi floored apartment building where ukrop
semi-oligarchs used to live. Ukrops have the blueprints and probably old sets
of keys that just might still work. The elevators are Otis. Made in the USA.
Maybe they needed "repairs" recently, you know, like the WTC did in
August '01.
There are MANY vantage points, hundreds, from which
an assassin could see when Motorola came home, and the tech is cheap and easy
to detonate a bomb via cell phone (2 out of 3 cell services in DPR are still
owned AND OPERATED by ukrops) and if you have a cell phone detonator, it is
nothing to add a camera or mic function to the rig, to make sure the target is
in the kill zone when you press the button.
4) I trust and respect Alexander Vladimirovich
Zaharchenko. He's a good guy, and he's doing a good job that sure ain't easy. I
saw his vid from last night, and I really doubt he was acting. I believe the
technical term is "Fuckin' PISSED". .He threatened directly ukrop
army and secret services, something I doubt was pre-approved by Moscow. He
called Arseny Sergeyevich Pavlov his "good friend", and I think he
meant it.
5) So does Sparta Brigade, one of the biggest and
strongest units in the whole Novorussian Army. Because if they thought
Zaharchenko had anything to do with it, they'd be in the streets already, and
nobody could stop them. BUT THEY'RE NOT. Motorola was loved by his men and
many. many other people here. Zaharchenko would be committing political suicide
to kill him, and what reason could he have? Motorola had just proven himself a
trusted and loyal officer to Zaharchenko and Novorussia in the LPR only weeks
before. Apparently, the people that are in a position to know, and to do
something about it, do not think it was an "inside job".
6) Cui Bono? Nobody in the DPR, that's for sure,
and nobody loyal to the future of the RF, either. Motorola was a GREAT
commander. Courageous, skilled, and loved by his men. The DPR NEEDS Commanders
like that. It was a strategic loss, from a military perspective. This war isn't
over yet, and we may well be coming up on the hardest part of it in the near
future.
If things get hot in Syria, they will heat up here.
Things are STILL hot as Hell at the Front, and getting hotter, here and in
Syria, every day. The war goes on, and we cannot afford to bump off our own
best commanders. If the Army falls, the Republic falls, and our Army suffered a
grave loss last night. Motorola was not, to my knowledge, seeking political
power or in any conflict with the Administration here. He was not running for
office, was not listed in the Primaries, made no public statements about
politics, or much of anything else.
7) The Kiev and US fascists are celebrating
tonight, the murder of one of their most powerful and charismatic foes. Someone
who had whipped their ass at the Donetsk airport, and all along the Donbass
Front. The only thing that could make them happier would be to see some
suspicion and in-fighting break out between Sparta and the Administration, or
for other DPR Commanders to wonder if they were next for the proverbial bayonet
in the back. But that ain't gonna happen, because the truth is clear to all
here whose opinions matter. The fuckin' ukrops did it. They tried twice before,
and failed. This time, they sent in the A-team. and finally got the job done.
But rather than sow suspicion and discord, they have brought us all closer
together to face the real and common enemy.
The suspicions of an "inside job" are not
only unfounded, they are dangerous. There was no reason for anyone in DPR or RF
to want Motorola dead, and every reason for the Kiev nazis to. The nazis, just
like with MH-17, had motive, means and opportunity. Motorola trusted his
leaders and comrades. His actions and subsequent events prove it. No serious
person here thinks it was any one other than ukrop diversants who killed him
this time, and tried twice before, And that includes me.
Discord among comrades sticks a knife in the back
of the whole DPR, Novorussia and the RF. We need unity now, as much as we did
during the darkest days of the war, because darker days may soon be upon us.
I respect The Saker, Shary and Southfront, and I am
surprised they put forth these speculations without any evidence. If there is
any proof Motorola had problems with comrades here, let's see it. But I don't
see any, and I live in Donetsk, and have friends here who are privy to things
not usually made public. There have been some disturbing, and maybe even
suspicious, killings of Novorussian Commanders, but they have ALL been in the
LPR, not here. And while I don't have an opinion on Plotnitsky or the workings
of the LPR, (because I simply don't know, and admit it) I DO know the DNR is
not the LPR.
Zaharchenko is not Plotnitsky, and he enjoys
well-deserved popular support here, and has no good reason to risk losing it
all by killing one of his best friends and comrades. He is no fool, and knows
his fate will be the same as the DNR's. For him to attack Motorola would be an
attack on the whole DNR and on himself. Think about it. The ukrop and US nazis
had every reason to want Motorola killed. The administration here (and close
by) had every reason not to, with one of the most important ones being that his
death would cause these exact unfounded rumors and suspicions. To all who
speculate without evidence, I say your speculations are foolish and dangerous.
If you have any evidence, let's see it. Put up, or shut up.
Russell "Texac" Bentley
Donetsk, DPR
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