Captured occupier on his fellow soldiers in Kursk region: "Lifespan there is 2-3 days. Everyone sent there is doomed"

Kursk buffer zone: Russian servicemen surrendered to stay alive. One of them is Vladislav Chernyshev, an assistant grenadier and rifleman.

My name is Vladislav Anatolievich Chernyshev. I was born on September 22, 1999. I'm from the Hero City of Volgograd and assigned to military unit 11048. My position is assistant grenadier and rifleman.

How did you end up in the Russian army?

There had been long-standing issues with utility payments in my family, a lot of debt. On top of that, I had my own debts, and my mother fell ill not long ago. So I decided to sign a contract to support my family.

How much did you receive for signing the contract?

Well, I saw an extra 400 was added here, before that there were 500, that’s it so far. There was also a salary, but I think it was calculated by the day. I received an SMS notification: 486 rubles 90 kopecks. As far as I understand, that was the prorated amount from the day I signed the contract. I was traveling through St. Petersburg — they had promised a 2.5 signing bonus.

Did they pay you 900,000 rubles?

Looks like it. The contract came into effect on the 30th of last month.

So you spent a relatively short time at the front?

I was actually at war in Tetkino for four days. Before that, we spent 12 days at a training ground, sort of camp facilities. Three of those days were shifts, not training. There were two kitchens: one Russian, one Korean. Some people worked in the Russian kitchen, some in the Korean. Everything was done there, some cooked, others prepped ingredients, opened cans and tins. Others chopped food, carried buckets with liquids and meals. Some cleaned up, and so on.

Did the Korean soldiers come to the kitchens?

Yes.

Kitchen shifts?

No, they live completely separately, they have their own dugouts. We were even instructed not to interact with them, though in practice, many still did. But no, they don’t do any shifts, they just train. They live there, eat there, train — their preparation is serious.

So Russian soldiers were assigned to kitchen duties for the Koreans?

Yes. And it’s actually quite insulting, to be honest.

Did you ever talk about this among yourselves? I understand you couldn’t raise it with command.

Of course we talked about it.

Did it feel unfair to you?

It just felt wrong, plain and simple, disrespectful toward us.

And how did your training go?

Honestly, I expected a lot more. Some of the instructors were just going through the motions. They’d give you a task without explaining the theory, then sit on their phones, not caring what we were doing or how. They were just putting in their hours, that’s all. There wasn’t any proper training. A good part of what had been promised never happened — things like CBRN defense, electronic warfare, communications. We only had one introductory session. Most of the sessions were introductory. One short introductory session per topic, barely scratching the surface of the theory. We spent a lot of time moving around the training ground in full gear and body armor. A lot of walking. We also practiced basic movement techniques, moving in pairs and threes. That was about it. They explained to us how grenades work, but didn’t cover how to operate the radio. This happened a bit later, one day at the temporary deployment point (TDP), after we left the training ground.

How much live fire training did you get? What weapons did you use?

Our unit was issued AK-74M rifles. Each rifle had about 10–12 magazine cases fired. Four of those weren’t even fired by us, I don’t know who it was. Two civilian men showed up, and either their daughters or wives, I couldn’t tell. They came to the training ground to shoot and used our rifles. During the 12 days I was there, there were several cases of deliberate self-inflicted gunshot wounds — two or three. One man collapsed and died during a march on the training ground. Apparently, he was quite old.

Did you shoot with an RPG, with a single shot? Or was it just a theory?

The funny thing is that I am an assistant grenade launcher shooter by position. I've never even seen a grenade launcher at the camp facilities on this training ground. The first time I saw a grenade launcher, when I was shown how to fire it blank, was after the training ground. We spent one day at the TDP, we had one day of training. There we were shown how to shoot an RPG blank. And that was it.

How would you assess the Korean soldiers? You saw their training, didn’t you?

They’re all highly motivated. No old guys, all young, strong men. Running up hills, one carrying another on his back. Their training includes everything — evading drones, movement drills. They practice advances and tactical withdrawals. It looked like they were going through extensive, effective training. At least that’s the impression I got. Their training is completely different from ours, no doubt.  Just to give you an example — we had this one instructor who split us into two teams: one group attacking, the other defending. No theory, no explanation,  not a word about how assaults work, why we were doing it, or how troops are supposed to pull back through the trenches once the position has been breached, and so on. He just gave the order: carry it out. So we did and we screwed it up. After that, he yelled at us like, "Use your head!" But what head, and in what direction are we supposed to think? I’d never served in the army before, not even on conscription. So I have no idea. That’s the kind of attitude some instructors had.

There are a lot of drones in use now. Did you receive any training on how to counter them?

We had two drone-related sessions. One was theoretical, they showed slides, explained what types of drones there are, what they do, how they fly, and so on. At the second session, there was a munition on display with burned-out drones hanging from it. Some people were throwing it, others practiced dodging it. That’s the kind of training we had.

Did you buy any of your own gear?

We were planning to, yeah. The only thing I managed to buy was a TUTKA, that’s slang for a radio. I paid 10,000 rubles apiece and bought one for myself and two more for guys who didn’t have money on their cards at the time.

Why did you need to buy a radio? Was it your initiative, or were you told to do it?

No, well… He just said, "I’m not going to hand them out." So that’s how it was.

Who said that?

Who? Shmel, I think. Whoever was in charge of issuing them. Maybe it wasn’t Shmel, I could be wrong. But the one responsible for handing them out. Because no one had jack shit. I didn’t have a watch, no radio, no power banks, nothing. And just a day before that, we had placed orders, yeah, we ordered helmets, seat pads, various stuff. Belts, everything according to the list. One guy was supposed to go, buy it all, and bring it back.

Why helmets?

Because the 6B47, I think that’s what it’s called — the standard-issue combat helmet  is uncomfortable. And all those military stores, even the one right at the training ground, they sell complete junk at outrageously inflated prices. Just profiteering. So, the day we were sent out, in the morning they told us to clean up the training ground, like utility work. We cleaned for half a day, until around noon, I guess. Then we came back to the dugout, and once we’d finished, they told us who was being sent. In the end, everyone from our dugout was going. We figured, okay, time to start packing, getting ready. But as soon as we got to the dugout, they told us we had one hour to get ready.  All I managed to do was put on these standard-issue boots, which, by the way, were completely soaked. They don’t keep moisture out for some reason. I walked across the wet training field, across the grass, my feet were soaked. I barely managed to change socks, throw together my duffel bag, grab my stuff, and that was it. Time was extremely short.

Where were you sent?

To a temporary deployment point. I don’t know exactly where it was — I jumped into the far end of the Ural truck, couldn’t see anything. The ride took about an hour and a half, maybe two — not too long. We disembarked there — forest strip, field, a road. We were assigned new call signs and settled into dugouts.

There was training the next morning, right? And why new call signs?

Honestly, I don’t know why. But personally, my call sign changed four times. First I had one, then another, then a third, and finally a fourth.

What were your call signs?

The first was Sparta. That’s because the area I’m from is called Spartanka, but locals just say Sparta, so I picked that. The second was Song, third was Castle, fourth was Young. We checked in, were issued weapons, and started training the next morning.

There was training at that location too?

Yeah, we spent one day there — they gave us introductory sessions.

What did they cover? What were you told?

So, the first person gave a brief account of the Alpin Quest app — brief, because none of us had it installed at that point. They hadn’t managed to set it up yet. He was showing everything on his own phone, and, well, there were a lot of us, it was chaotic, not easy to follow, obviously.
But he gave us a general idea of what it was, basically, maps. Then there was a medical session, but it was pretty basic. Although, to be fair, that was the first time we got a proper explanation of what the individual first-aid kit actually contains, and what each item is for. After that, we had a session on using the radio. They explained how to operate it.

All that happened in one day?

Yeah. But the sessions were short — like I said, just introductory, maybe 40 minutes, an hour each. They just showed us the basics — how to say "copy that " over the radio, how to use it and that was it. Then we were issued gear: four loaded magazine cases, eight packs of ammo, and two grenades each. We had to keep a steady pace and stay hidden from the UAVs the whole way. Eventually, we reached point 226 — M226. We waited there for about 30–40 minutes. Then a guide came to take us to our next location.

And were you navigating using Alpine Quest or something else?

Yeah, I had Alpine Quest on my phone. Before that, Shmel,  call sign Shmel,  was in charge. No idea what happened to him later, maybe he got wounded, maybe he stayed behind. He led us to a basement where there was a guy with the call sign Lis. That was their observation post. In the evening, my commander, call sign Palych, told us, "Alright, rest up till morning. I’ll get in touch with you then."

Palych said a guide would come and take you to a new location, right?

Yeah, a guide was supposed to come and take us out.

Did they move your group of three?

Yes, the three of us. They didn’t stay there themselves.

And they told you to dig in at that spot?

Yeah, the order was to dig in. We had one shovel between the three of us, so we took turns digging.

One shovel for three people?

Yep. On the first day there, just after I dug in, a mortar landed nearby. A fragment hit right here, shattered a Bakelite magazine, but I wasn’t even scratched.

It hit your plate, right?

No, I had three pouches here. The fragment hit the Bakelite magazine inside one of the pouches — it shattered the mag, but the vest stayed intact.

I wonder, if you hadn’t bought a radio yourself, how were you supposed to maintain communication?

In general, many things about the organization—people, supplies—really surprised me. Honestly, I expected something different.

When you were moving towards Chetkino, and in Tetykino itself, did you see the bodies of Russian soldiers or not?

Yes, I did.

Where exactly was that?

The first one I saw was before we reached point 226 — a body in a cart, no legs. Looked like they were trying to evacuate him but didn’t make it, a drone caught up with them. The second one was a bit further ahead, off to the right. I didn’t think much of it at the time, a body’s just lying there, that’s it. The rest were already in the zone where we were stationed, where we had our positions. I don’t know exactly where the evacuation point was, I assume it was at the spot we entered from, where it was relatively safe.

Wait, they didn’t tell you where the evacuation point was?

We weren’t told anything… At least my group and the ones that entered with us, from what I know, we were given the bare minimum. The only thing I was told as the team lead was: here’s your point, get there, dig in, hold the line, and observe. That’s it. That’s the full extent of the information we received.

How did you end up leading the group?

I guess I just stepped up or maybe I was the most level-headed. Plus, I had a radio.

At what point were you captured? How did it happen?

Well, it started with this... we ran out of food and water. I kept asking Palych to arrange a resupply. Eventually they did, kind of — but the route was insane. You had to haul ass for half a kilometer across open terrain to get to the water, to a spot called Chukcha. There was no other choice.  Me and Parashut headed out to get water, everyone was thirsty, everyone was hungry. We hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for two days. We never made it to the water. I’m just walking you through the timeline leading to the capture. We were spotted by a drone, and then either a mortar or artillery started hitting — something heavy, I’m not sure what exactly. We dove into the treeline on the left, near the positions called Luch and Zvezda. Two of our guys were lying there, KIA — Seryi and Zayats. Looks like they got hit by a mortar. When we ran in, we gave away the treeline, and they started shelling it again. Luch took shrapnel, he was a WIA. Four of us ran off to find cover, to look for a basement. And we got lucky. We found one.  There was a solid metal door — pretty sturdy. All four of us dove in there. But of course, the basement had already been spotted, and then everything started hitting it. Mortars, artillery, tanks, kamikaze drones. Probably six or seven of those slammed into it. Then there was a moment, a firefight broke out on the left somewhere. You could hear it clearly, lasted 15, maybe 20 minutes, pretty intense. We realized that was our window, the Mavics were likely focused on the fighting. So we made a run for it. We got out just in time — the door wasn’t even holding anymore. We just pushed it, and it fell off. We ran out, turned right, and made it to the next treeline. Someone spotted us, but it was a big strip of forest — we scattered and lost each other. They shelled that treeline too, for quite a while, but it wasn’t accurate. No one was hit.

We found a basement. It was already evening by then — we had about two hours left until dark. And once it gets dark, thermal optics start working, so we couldn’t stay put. We found a basement and spent the night there. That’s where Sirota found us, I already mentioned that.
Together with him, we made it to Chukcha. But he refused to go any farther, wouldn’t go toward your positions. It was me and Tucha no, wait, I’m confused. Tucha stayed at the position. It was me, Parashut, the one I went for water with — plus Zvezda and Luch, the two guys from the treeline. At Chukcha, we picked up some water. They gave us three 1.5-liter bottles, each only half full. Then we headed toward our positions, that was the order. And Palych was freaking us out, saying, "You’ve got 30 minutes to reach the position in the morning, you’re screwed," stuff like that. All in that tone. But we had to move anyway,  we had the water, the guys had already started moving, one by one. I was moving faster than the others. Along the way, we found a guy with the call sign Ptakha. He joined us, we were told to take him with us as well. Then the others stayed back in the treeline, hiding from drones.

I was the first to move carefully through the bushes. There was another moment on the left side. A drone spotted me, then a kamikaze flew in. Came in really close, maybe 8 meters. There was a house right there. I wasn’t even in cover, just standing next to a fence. It didn’t hit me, but I did get slightly concussed. Everything started to blur, ringing in my ears, damn it, and the visuals were all messed up. I moved on, couldn’t wait around. Crossed the road, took a short break in a treeline, just a couple of minutes, then pushed forward through some houses to reach our side’s treeline. I made it there. For a moment, I thought maybe someone fired a few shots or maybe there were shrapnel bursts — not sure. Right before I sprinted into the treeline, I dove in and started heading toward our guys. I began shouting so they wouldn’t hit me by mistake from the rear. They were answering me, but my ears were ringing. I couldn’t make sense of it, felt like I’d been concussed. They were replying like everything was fine, but I started to have doubts.  I started asking questions, like, "Who from your side left yesterday? What was the call sign?" I felt a pause — something was off. At that moment, one of your guys was talking to me, his call sign was Barvynok. Yeah, he already had me at gunpoint. I couldn’t see him through the bushes, but he was close, maybe seven meters away. I was going by the sound of his voice. It all happened really fast — maybe in 10 to 12 seconds, tops. He thought I was aiming my weapon at him and started shouting, "Don’t point your weapon!" And then the shooting started. I returned fire. It didn’t last long, just a brief firefight between me and Barvynok. He hit my magazine — there’s a dent in it from the round. And right then, I heard people shouting, "Castle, Castle, Castle!" I realized it was friendly fire. Some kind of miscommunication. I started shouting, "I’m coming out! I’m coming out!" I walked out and they took me down. They grabbed my rifle, sat me on the ground and that’s how I was captured.

How many of you were captured at that position?

Eight people in total. Others showed up later, in pairs or alone, but I didn’t see that myself.

How do you feel in captivity? What’s your condition?

From the moment I was captured, they treated me like a human being. The guys who were there, I don’t remember all their names, but I do remember Churchill and Barvynok. They gave us food from their own rations, gave us each a sip of water. No one was left out and I’m really grateful for that. It was humane. Later, in captivity, they fed us, gave us water, a place to sleep, to stretch our legs. No abuse, everything was humane. I honestly didn’t expect it. I thought it would be different. At this point, I have more resentment toward Palych than toward you.

What would you say to Palych if he could hear you?

I wouldn’t say a thing. I’d just punch him in the beard — that’s it. That position — it was basically a death trap. Either from one side or the other. The average lifespan there was two to three days. Everyone sent there was doomed.