AN UNLIKELY COMMANDER ⟩ How A Sketchy Small-Time Businessman Rose from Sumy's Shadows to Become a Frontline Legend

Photo: GENYA SAVILOV

Jaanus PiirsaluWar Correspondent at Postimees

9th August 2024, 07:22

A 29-year-old company commander, codenamed 'Salidol,' led the final Ukrainian Army unit to withdraw from the nearly encircled town of Avdiivka last winter.

The fog of war often clouds the truth, and the withdrawal of the 2nd Battalion of Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade from Avdiivka in February this year was no exception. Despite an official statement from the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, announcing the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdiivka to "better defensive positions," Salidol and his men stayed in the Donetsk suburb longer than expected.

Salidol (his callsign) will probably never forget those days. Syrskyi declared on February 17th that Ukrainian forces had been pulled out of Avdiivka to prevent encirclement. "We stayed at the coking plant for two more days after that," Salidol told us. By "coking plant," he was referring to the large coking chemical plant on the outskirts of Avdiivka. Salidol's company covered one of the main retreat routes for other Ukrainian units, but they couldn’t leave immediately due to the intensity of Russian artillery fire.

A drone view shows a destroyed coke and chemical plant, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Avdiivka, Ukraine, February 19, 2024. Photo: 110TH MECHANISED BRIGADE

Exploiting Clever Tactics to Break Out

They had to wait and come up with clever tactics to break out of the encirclement with minimal losses. Salidol did not allow revealing the details of his tactical innovation, as it might still be needed in the future. "He led his company out, along with an additional 120 soldiers from other units who were essentially left behind in Avdiivka," said 'Doc', the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Brigade.

Doc considers Salidol and his company’s actions to be nothing short of heroic. Given that a company typically consists of 100-120 soldiers, Salidol was responsible for leading over 200 Ukrainian soldiers out of the encirclement.

Salidol is a prime example of how war can elevate people to leadership roles they might never have reached in peacetime. He hails from a small town in the Sumy region near the Russian border. Before the war, he was a small-time entrepreneur with a questionable background, occasionally running into trouble with the law.

From Partisan Fighter to Company Commander

When the full-scale war began, he spent a month and a half under Russian occupation. He and his friends became partisans, carrying out sabotage missions against Russian forces. "After that, I was overtaken by a wave of patriotism," Salidol laughed as he explained why he decided to join the Ukrainian army after the Russian troops withdrew from Sumy.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 3rd assault brigade fire a SPG-9 recoilless gun during a tactical training in an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region on October 13, 2023. Photo: GENYA SAVILOV

He and 12 of his partisan friends joined the 3rd Brigade. In just over a year, Salidol, who had no prior military experience, rose to the rank of senior lieutenant and company commander. Of the 12 friends who joined the fight with him, only three remain alive today.

The 3rd Assault Brigade, formed from the former Azov Battalion, operates with a different set of traditions and rules compared to other units in the Ukrainian army. In this brigade, past ranks and prior military service don’t matter.

The Legendary Rules of the 3rd Brigade

What counts is how you fight and lead right here and right now. The rules of the 3rd Brigade have become legendary in Ukraine. For instance, there is zero tolerance for alcohol and drug use, even during off-duty time in the rear. The reasoning is simple: at any moment, a critical situation could arise on the front lines, requiring immediate support from the rear. If you're intoxicated, what help can you provide to your comrades?

Violators of this rule face corporal punishment: pants down, belly on the table, and 10-15 lashes. This kind of discipline quickly curbs the urge to drink. What's important is that the men understand why they are being punished, and they continue to fight with determination afterward, as several officers from the 3rd Brigade have previously told me. According to Doc, the Chief of Staff, strict rules and adherence to them help maintain morale, which is becoming increasingly important with each passing month.

Ukrainian servicemen from firing the 105 mm Italian howitzers from their positions in the Avdiivka direction. Photo: VITALII NOSACH

Maintaining Morale Amidst Growing Challenges

Maintaining morale has become a very serious issue within the Ukrainian army. Emotions are running high in the brigades fighting on the front lines, as we observed several times during visits to the Eastern Ukraine front in late July. Some Ukrainian soldiers are battling not just the enemy but also their own army's leadership, fighting to keep their brigade commanders in place. Others, conversely, are demanding that their brigade leaders be removed for following orders that have led to pointless casualties.

Dissatisfaction is growing within the Ukrainian army over many issues. The situation is worsening: soldiers and frontline officers are exhausted, resources are dwindling, Western aid is insufficient, defensive lines are incomplete, and demoralizing airstrikes are taking their toll. Due to the Russian offensive in the northern part of the Kharkiv region, Ukraine now has to defend an increasingly extended front line with ever-decreasing resources.

Challenges of Unit Rotation on the Front Line

According to public data, the Ukrainian army has deployed approximately 30,000-40,000 soldiers to defend the city of Kharkiv, who would otherwise be countering Russian offensives in the Donetsk region. In recent months, Ukrainian units have had to retreat multiple times following rotations on the front line. Russian forces have successfully exploited these moments, launching effective attacks on the Donetsk region at least four times in recent months.

"Unit rotation is the hardest thing to execute on the front," said Doc. "It takes a minimum of 72 hours for a new unit to settle in, and the old unit remains in place for a while."

Salidol believes that a successful rotation requires both the departing and arriving units to spend at least a few days together on the front lines so that the veterans can pass on their experience and knowledge to the newcomers. He is convinced that all the incidents where Russian forces have successfully attacked during a rotation were caused by units being swapped out too quickly on the front lines.

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war in ukraine