Who are the militia of the NDP?

The question of who such militiamen began to emerge among many after the beginning of the armed confrontation in the eastern part of Ukraine.

Historical reference

In the spring of 2014, the southeastern regions of Ukraine were overwhelmed by protest actions. The population of these territories refused to recognize the new power that was formed after the events on the Maidan.

Discontent was expressed with the newly appointed governors, new "people's leaders" were elected in the regions.

6.04.2014, having held the next meeting, the protesters began active operations. Some administrative buildings in the South-East of Ukraine were seized.
Activists captured firearms stored in the Security Service of Lugansk and Donetsk.

Formation of the militia of the People's Democratic Republic

From 11.04.2014 armed self-defense units began to be formed, headed by Igor Kakidzyanov.

During April, subdivisions of power structures were captured in some settlements of the Donetsk region.

04/04/2014 DNP militiamen made the first attempt to assault the Mariupol military unit. Soon the Ukrainian command was applied to aviation. The number of local skirmishes and attempts to attack military targets has increased.

During May, the seizure of police units and administrative buildings continued.

During the large-scale attack in the direction of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, in addition to the Ukrainian army and internal affairs forces, and also the "Right Sector", the Kiev authorities had to personally learn who the militia was.

Despite many days of attack, supporters of federalization managed to survive for quite some time, while three Ukrainian helicopters were shot down.

In mid-2014, militias surrounded a group of Ukrainian servicemen who were trying to control the border with Russia. Surrounded by three brigades. In the hands of the militiamen there were military equipment and artillery pieces in the number not less than 150 units.

The second major encirclement of Ukrainian troops was in early 2015 near Debaltsevo.

On the composition of the troops of the militia

People's militia use as symbols the Russian tricolor, the St. George ribbon and the flag of the People's Republic of France.

There is no reliable information on the precise structure and strength of the DNP militia. At the same time, who are the militia of the DNR can be understood by analyzing the composition of the three main groups of its participants.

The first group consisted of former fighters of the power divisions of Ukraine, formerly members of the Berkut or special forces of the Security Service of Ukraine, who had the necessary training.

The second group included local residents who voluntarily joined the militia forces. The level of army training was very different.

The third conditional group included foreign volunteers and mercenaries.
Some military experts believe that in 2015 the militia moved to the brigade structure. There was a significant improvement in material and technical support, a single command was created.

Detachments of the militia of the People's Democratic Republic of

The following units of the troops of the People's Democratic Republic are well known, which appeared in the mass media at various times.

The group headed by Strelkov, who unofficially received the name of the Slavic Brigade, was engaged in the defense of Slavyansk. Its soldiers also held defense near Kramatorsk and nearby towns and villages. Subsequently, the brigade relocated to Donetsk.

The brigade "East" was commanded by Alexander Khodakovsky. The place of its creation was Donetsk, at first it was a battalion, which included former local "Alpha" and "Berkut", South Ossetian and Russian, including Chechen volunteers. The battalion included up to half a thousand men.

The Oplot battalion was initially organized by a group of Kharkov supporters of Anti- Maidan. Then they moved to Donetsk. Until mid-2014, this unit was partially focused on the functions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Major Alexander Zakharchenko was in charge of the division of the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Sparta battalion was commanded by A. Pavlov, who became famous as "Motorola" as a militiaman, who died as a result of a sabotage act in October this year.

The Kalmius Battalion was organized by miners. It was headed by Sergei Petrovsky. Since autumn of 2014 a brigade was organized from this mining battalion.

The first separate battalion-tactical group "Somalia" was headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Mikhail Tolstoy, known as "Givi". The militiaman managed to create a truly unique unit, which proved itself worthy in combat operations.

About individual militia representatives

To answer the question about who such militiamen are, it is possible by the example of the above-mentioned Arsen Sergeyevich Pavlov (call sign "Motorola").

He died as a result of an explosion on October 16, 2016, produced by an improvised explosive device attached to an elevator cable. After his death, the Dnieper declared mourning for three days.

To say goodbye to him in the Donetsk Opera House came more than 50 thousand people.

"Motorola" - the militiaman who received the title of Hero of the People's Republic of Hungary on February 21, 2015, came to the territory of Ukraine from Rostov in February 2014. First he joined the Kharkiv "Oplot", then went under the command of Strelkov.

He had a certain combat experience, as he had previously served in the Marine Corps, while serving for more than a year and a half under contract in a long-term service. I went to Chechnya twice to participate in the counter-terrorist operation.

Over time, he led a detachment that grew to an anti-tank company of the Volunteer Battalion.

Later, a battalion of "Sparta" was formed from this unit.