Instead of digging trenches, soldiers of 125th Brigade’s repair battalion were sent to combat positions, where they had to engage in small arms combat, - military appeal
The soldiers of the 125th Heavy Mechanised Brigade's repair battalion , who recently protested against their transfer without training to an assault unit, were sent to Kupiansk to allegedly dig trenches, but on the spot were told to take up firing positions and conduct defence operations.
This is stated in a collective appeal of the soldiers, Censor.NET reports.
Earlier it was reported that the soldiers of the repair battalion of the Lviv 125th separate heavy mechanised brigade plan to go to the AWOL en masse because of the command's intention to send them to an assault unit.
"It was noted that the 'trenches' would be ten kilometres from the line of contact, that there were already a lot of troops in front of the area, ranging from the personnel of the 125th unmanned systems battalion (pilots, who are now worth their weight in gold, also turned out to be unnecessary in their profession) to 'more trained units'. The list of potential "diggers" included almost everyone - repairmen of all kinds, drivers, signalmen, cooks, etc.", they said.
The military said that one of the best UAV pilots of the former 219th battalion, now a member of the unmanned systems battalion, Junior Sergeant Nazar Mykytynskyi ("Kompas"), was killed during the deployment, and three other soldiers were injured.
"However, the order is an order and the personnel of the repair battalion enter the designated area. However, new nuances emerge here: it is no longer about digging, but about taking up firing positions, installing engineering barriers, conducting defence, raiding operations together with representatives of "more trained units".
Phrases such as "repair battalion in defence" or "tactics of repair battalion actions during raids" are, of course, flattering to the ego, but nothing more. It remains a mystery which statute states that the repair battalion should occupy firing positions (observation posts), conduct defensive combat, or even take part in hostilities.
And again, there are a lot of promises about the most favourable conditions for performing tasks. The arguments about cooks and other specialists who simply do not have the appropriate training, let alone training to act in urban areas (we are not even talking about combat coordination) are not taken into account," the appeal says.
On 5 October, while moving to occupy the next observation post, a group including representatives of the repair battalion came under automatic fire from the occupiers, and two soldiers were wounded in a firefight.
"10 kilometres from "zero", reconnaissance support, sniper cover, turned out to be another deception from the 125th shmb, which had only one goal - to fulfil the task of some superior at any cost. ... That day, one of the wounded - senior soldier BEZSMERTNYI Oleksandr ("CHERKASY"), a senior driver of repair battalion's support platoon - died of his wounds during the evacuation. The evacuation, which, against all odds, was carried out by the repair battalion itself on an old snag, halfway across the city under enemy drones. ...
If the medics had met our evac not at the last kilometre to the stabilisation point, but at least a little earlier, the man, who is a specialist in his field and is limitedly fit for health reasons, went out to fulfil the task, being sure that everything would happen exactly as 125 shmb promised, would have survived," the soldiers said.
The soldiers also noted that the term "125th shmb", which they use, should be applied exclusively to the leadership of the brigade, and not to its combat units, which have been performing combat missions in the hottest spots since 2022.
