"Discipline can save your life": soldiers of the Spartan Brigade tell about fierce battles and preparations for a counter-offensive. Photo.

Soldiers of the Spartan Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine spoke about their combat experience and preparations for a counter-offensive. They are currently practising their professional skills in Kharkiv region.

The information and communication department of the Eastern Territorial Directorate of the National Guard told OBOZREVATEL that the soldiers are practicing landing armoured vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, assaulting and clearing trenches, responding to direct and indirect contact, getting ambushed and detecting sabotage and reconnaissance groups.

One of those undergoing training is a senior armoured vehicle gunner, 51-year-old Bohdan, with the call sign "Deputy". He is from Kyiv, has never served in the army, has never held a weapon in his hands, but has always had an active civic position.

On the first day of the war, Bohdan took his family to a safe place and went to the military commissariat the next day. He was mobilised in March 2022 and served for 10 months in a military unit in the Zakarpattia region, writing reports for deployment to the front, and joined the Spartan Brigade at the end of January 2023.

According to the Deputy, the training is professionally organised, the instructors are qualified and know from their own combat experience what they are teaching, how to interact with each other, and how to use the skills and abilities that will help them perform their tasks accurately and efficiently in the future.

"The classes are structured in such a way that you don't have time to get too tired, but at the same time, each day of classes is as intense as possible. The instructors are demanding, because discipline in training can save your life in a combat situation," the National Guard member said.

Before the full-scale invasion, the Slavutych fighter worked for a logistics company. He was called up to serve in the Spartan Brigade as a rifleman in January. During his service, he has already been to hotspots and participated in battles in the Bakhmut sector.

The soldier said that he had been in training for the first three weeks after mobilisation, and on February 20, he and his comrades arrived in the fortress city. On the 21st, the defenders were already in position.

"There were 7 of us, including the commander, who had already had combat experience before. Almost from the very beginning, the commander was wounded and the six of us were left. We stayed at the position for 2.5 days and managed to repel four enemy attacks. We returned to the control and tracking strip, where everyone was surprised by our actions, that we, completely "green" guys, were able to hold back the enemy so skilfully. In Bakhmut, I got a concussion, after which I was withdrawn from my position in March, then I was on rehabilitation and now I am back in training to continue to destroy the enemy even more," says Slavutych.

Guardsman Rudyi is a Kharkiv resident who joined the army with combat experience. In 2015-2016, he took part in battles in the Donetsk region in the ATO zone.

During the full-scale invasion, he took part in fierce battles in Bakhmut. In the Spartan brigade, he is a squad leader and says that this year's training is extremely necessary.

"I met the war in Kyiv, I was on a business trip, we got in the car and came to my native Kharkiv, I was in the first-line reserve and immediately arrived at the unit," said Rudyi.

In the Kharkiv region, he performed combat missions to repel Russian aggression, and in October, he received his first injury. Shortly after treatment, he went to Toretsk as part of a combined unit to perform combat missions.

"On December 29, we arrived in Bakhmut, in January I was lightly wounded, in February I received a non-combat injury, and then went for treatment. As a squad commander, I am sure we need the exercises to get ourselves in combat alignment and improve our own interaction," the National Guard member says.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported:

- Soldiers of the National Guard assault brigade "Spartan" and partisans spoke about their participation in the liberation of Kharkiv region. From February to mid-September 2022, the territory captured by the enemy became an arena not only of hostilities, but also of intimidation, harassment and terror.

- Mykola Kovalyov, a 59-year-old resident of the village of Staryi Saltiv in the Kharkiv region, told how he single-handedly killed two occupiers who attacked his house, escaped and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The man spent nine months at the front, took part in the battles near Bakhmut, and has now returned home.

- Grigory Pivovarov, an Israeli citizen, told us why he came to the defence of Ukraine. He has been involved in the war since 2014 and hopes to receive a Ukrainian passport one day.

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