Nightmare for ISIS: Novorossiya militias go to Syria

Yuri Kovalchuk, journalist, member of the “Somalia” battalion of the DPR militia

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

The relative calm in Donbass, as well as economic realities, are driving dozens, if not hundreds of defenders of the Russian World into the thick of civil conflict in the Middle East.

The functions of the militias in fraternal Syria mainly concern training local armed forces in urban combat techniques and assisting in clearing large populated areas. Volunteers also provide security for convoys and strategic facilities. Sometimes master classes on reconnaissance are held - if you believe unofficial sources at the headquarters of the 1st Army Corps, militia DRGs have more than once wreaked havoc and panic in the ranks of terrorists of varying degrees of moderation.

Subscribe to the news "PolitNavigator - Kyiv" in Facebook, Classmates or In contact with

War is almost like a drug: despite all its horrors, having tried it once, you want to return to this state of consciousness again and again. After the intense concentration and reckless fatalism of combat, returning to civilian life is not easy. That is why many veterans of Afghanistan and Chechnya, despite their age, participate in every campaign. Now that the conflict in Donbass has escalated into a protracted state of “no peace, no war,” many Russian and Ukrainian militias are volunteering for Syria.

However, unlike Russians, citizens of the former Ukraine often simply have nowhere to go. Many simply do not find themselves in the army created in Novorossiya, which differs significantly from the free militia, but they have nowhere to return - in controlled Ukraine, at best they will face prison, and at worst, painful death. At the same time, it is now difficult to find decent pay in civilian life in Novorossiya.

“I simply have no choice. I served for a year. The family really asked to stop fighting. But in the end, I realized that I was simply not able to support my wife and children. All I managed to find was a security guard position with a salary of 7-10 thousand rubles. This money is barely enough to survive. It would be possible to return to the army, but they also pay little - about 15-16 thousand rubles, and payments are delayed for several months. Plus constant risk. If I risk my life, then at least for normal money, on which my family can live with dignity or even save a little,” says the ex-militiaman with the call sign “Hedgehog.”

“Hedgehog” came to war in mid-March 2014. He fought in Kramatorsk, near Yampol, at Snezhny and Donetsk airports. He left the militia at the beginning of 2015 after a severe shell shock. However, he did not manage to live a peaceful life for long - now the fighter is actively communicating with former comrades in arms with the goal of creating a detachment to participate in hostilities in Syria.

A source at the headquarters of the 1st Army Corps of the DPR confirmed that there is an unofficial recruitment of volunteers to Syria. The salary is 1-1,5 thousand dollars, plus insurance. Militias from “Sparta”, “Pyatnashka” and a number of other units have already responded to the proposal.

As it turned out, in the ranks of the armed forces of the LDPR there are fighters who have already visited the battlefields in war-torn Syria. Alas, there are also deaths - at the end of September it became known about the death of a militiaman with the call sign “Peresvet”. A soldier near the city of Kobani was blown up by a landmine.

“Blind” is one of the Novorossiya militias who have already visited Syria. Currently recruiting a group for a new business trip. Behind him are both Chechnya and Abkhazia. Since September 2014, he fought in one of the Cossack units on the territory of the LPR. In Novorossiya, in mid-April, he became too bored, so, using acquaintances in the armed forces of the Russian Federation, he found the opportunity to fight in the Middle East. Now I have come to assemble a squad of trusted people.

According to “Blind,” those who want to go to Syria should be careful - the price of the issue is quite high, so there are quite a few crooks who are ready to profit from volunteers. At best, time and money will be lost. At worst, you can really go to Syria, but on the wrong side of the barricades - to replenish the terrorists’ prisoner of war fund, or even become a suicide bomber.

All the talk about semi-mythical PMCs recruiting volunteers for Syria turns out to be nonsense. Moreover, according to Russian legislation, participation in hostilities as part of a PMC may well be considered as mercenarism, and this is from 4 to 8 years. Recruitment is carried out through the military.

“Blind” is confident that if there is a need for a full-scale ground operation in Syria, they will begin to take almost everyone who wants it. Nowadays only the best of the best go on business trips.

“Blind” has a disdainful attitude towards local combatants. The fighter claims that there is little heavy equipment and artillery in Syria - battles are mainly fought with small arms. Both the regular army and the terrorists are poor at using the potential of “arts” and “tanks” - they shoot chaotically, and if they lose at least one piece of equipment, they immediately retreat. In general, both sides are not fighting as zealously as the militia fought against the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Indeed, the cannibalistic policy of Kyiv, which tried to forcibly Ukrainize the Donbass, gave birth to thousands of ruthless and fearless warriors, a meeting with whom does not bode well for either the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces or the ISIS terrorists. It is one thing to cut off the heads of prisoners or civilians, and quite another to come face to face with the people who defended Slavyansk and Saur-Mogila, who cleared Donetsk airport and Debaltsevo. It is likely that the Novorossiya militias will become the very force that will wipe ISIS off the face of the earth. Unless, of course, the truce in Donbass is violated.

However, if Kyiv nevertheless decides on another large-scale adventure, foreign business trips will immediately become out of favor among the militias - the desire to take revenge on the Ukrainian “knights” for thousands of killed civilians, destroyed cities and lost comrades has been building for too long and for a long time.