Battalion commander Oleh Shyriaiev: "Enemy started using ’shoygu-mobiles’: golf carts, ATVs, motorcycles. But main problem in Chasiv Yar is UAVs."

The Russians continue to actively attack the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region. The situation is critically difficult. But the Ukrainian military is doing everything possible to deter and eliminate the enemy.

On June 22, Ukrainian Armed Forces Colonel Anatolii Shtefan said on his Telegram channel that Russian military bloggers were mourning the commander of the 98th Battalion of the Ivanovo Airborne Assault Division Alexander Lapshin. They say he was killed in a battle near Chasiv Yar. Almost the entire battalion was killed with him. He showed a screenshot of a Russian public page with a black-and-white photo of a Russian and a caption: "Sad news from the front line. Our old, heartfelt Friend and Airborne Forces Officer of the 98th Guards Division of the Ivanovo Airborne Forces, Alexander Lapshin, died a valiant death ((( In a heavy battle in Chasiv Yar. There is no more Friend, almost the entire battalion was killed". "Censor.NET has learned that our 225th Separate Assault Battalion took part in that battle. It is commanded by Captain Oleh Shyriaiev, call sign Sirko. We talked to him about that battle and the war in general.

- "Our battalion has been standing in the Chasiv Yar area for almost six months," says the commander. - "During this time, our constant enemy has been the 98th Airborne Assault Division of the RF, which consists of more than 16 'organisms'. These are the main ones: airborne regiments and enabling forces, various logistics units, and so on. So, of course, our forces are not comparable. Just like in terms of manpower and military equipment. But we are still standing in passive defense. The enemy is constantly eliminated by our main forces.

- What was the battle like, in which you killed almost their entire battalion?

- It was a normal day, as usual. The enemy was trying to advance, push us through and get beyond the canal. Everything was working: artillery, and there were a lot of small arms battles in our line. I cannot say that it was a special day because every day in Chasiv Yar is special for my unit.

- How did you find out that their commander was also killed?

- At the time he died, we saw him being evacuated from the battlefield. It was such an evacuation... The enemy was trying to take him out at any cost. We even joked among ourselves that they were evacuating a general. I will not specify the place, but we saw this moment and only then realized who was being taken away.

- The Russians have been assaulting the city very actively for several months. You said that they are not able to achieve any outstanding success here. So are they trying to work to our exhaustion?

- In principle, the Russians are very actively assaulting Chasiv Yar. Yes, they have not achieved significant success. Why do I say this? Because they have "lost" a lot of their infantry, as well as military equipment, they are losing artillery and so on. They are working for our exhaustion, they take the successes they manage to achieve through "meat assaults" - the fact that their infantry has losses, probably one to ten. Something like that can be calculated.

- What tactics have they chosen here?

- The enemy is not using military equipment at the moment. I understand that they have lost a lot. They are simply using "meat assaults", including a special contingent of former prisoners and the so-called small peoples of Russia: they are using Buryats, Tuvans, etc. These eastern peoples of Russia are now mostly fighting.

- In a recent interview, you said the following phrase: "Let's not forget that the enemy is insidious, constantly learning and revealing new ways of waging war through various, mostly forbidden methods." Which ones does he use in your area?

- The enemy is insidious and tries to use new methods. One of the newest is false maneuvers, i.e., in one direction it shows alleged actions, alleged active participation, but first and foremost it is actually attacking and increasing its main efforts in another. This should be taken into account because it is a constant tactic. Also, because the enemy has lost a lot of military equipment, they have now begun to actively use "shoigu-mobiles": golf carts, ATVs, motorcycles, etc. But the main problem in Chasiv Yar, I emphasize, is the use of UAVs: day and night drops. There is a constant permanent operation of drones - FPV and others.

- Let's talk about the war in general. I know that you took part in the ATO. What did it mean to you then? And what does it mean now?

- Yes, I have been participating in the ATO since 2014. This is my third time in the army and my second time at war, both ATO and full-scale. I can briefly say what this war means to me: I took an oath to the Ukrainian people and the territorial integrity of my country plays a very important role for me. Especially because I live in the border region of Kharkiv. I live in Kharkiv. It is very important to me, and I would like to see Kharkiv remain a Ukrainian city with every facet of my being. I don't want to live under the laws of the Russian Federation, or even next to them.

- Before February 24, 2022, did you think that a full-scale offensive could take place?

- I thought there would be a full-scale offensive. But I believed that it would be some kind of hybrid war, like the Chechen wars, in other words, the first and second campaigns. I understood that the enemy would "probe" somewhere, as it did with Crimea and Donbas, and would continue to try to replenish with weapons, even personnel, and involve various hybrid units like the Don Cossacks and so on, to participate in the war in Donbas. I did not think that Russia would enter the war directly. But it did, and we are currently resolving this issue.

- How did the full-scale war begin for you?

- It can be briefly described in the following phrase: there were explosions, I fell out of bed. Then I started communicating with my friends, my brothers-in-arms and looking for units where I could fight. That's all that started. In other words, from the beginning of the full-scale war, I immediately decided for myself that I would go to war again.

- You took part in the liberation of the Kharkiv region, for which you were awarded the Order for Courage, III class. How was that counteroffensive for you?

- Yes, I took part in the battles for the Kharkiv region, but it was before the counteroffensive. In other words, we were attacking before it. We had successes. We advanced up to about three kilometers along the plantings and pushed back the enemy. We had a fairly serious enemy, the 61st Kirkenes Marine Brigade, which replaced the 200th Pechenga Brigade.

- What is the first thing you remember about those times?

- This beginning of a full-scale war was a classic for me. I remember how we were all together then. How can I tell you... we lived as one family and, to be honest, it was much easier to fight than it is now. Then there were UAVs, there were drones with drops, but not in the same format as the enemy uses them now. It is recalled that the enemy's artillery was firing on us much more than today. We had a mobility corridor, which we expected to have only one hour per day. So, the enemy was constantly keeping us under fire, as well as our routes. The only thing that was used less, I repeat, was UAVs.

- There are more and more statements in Ukraine and abroad that the war has reached a deadlock. In particular, this opinion was recently expressed by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. Do you agree with him?

- As for the fact that the war has reached a deadlock, I will say this: for every action there are counteractions. I believe that any situation can be corrected. I think we have a problem here. I'm talking about our mobilized people. They go to the army without sufficient motivation, you know? And we are very, very loyal to them: legislation and everything else. But we have to build up a disciplined, motivated army. With less motivated soldiers, we will not be able to fulfill the tasks we used to do. So we have to work on their discipline and motivation. I will tell you this: there are no bad soldiers, only bad commanders. Maybe some training and coordination is needed somewhere.

Now the army is primarily holding back the enemy. This is direct evidence that the enemy can be confronted. I do not agree with the opinion of the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley that the war has reached a dead end. Give us weapons, ammunition, give us the opportunity to train and hit the enemy's logistics and territory, and everything will be fine.

-At what stage is the war today?

- It's hard to say... I can't look ahead to see where we are now. I think this is the moment when we have to find other solutions, other approaches to resolve issues. I've told you the problem - low motivation of the personnel. But we can work on this. There was another problem, but it has now been solved - the Unmanned Systems Troops. Yes, this is the future. This is a timely solution that needs to be developed now. Until we have the forces, means and specialists. These are very important troops that are now being created in the Armed Forces.