Battalion commander Khugaev: “Soldiers must see that their commander is with them”

Vitaly was born and raised in North Ossetia-Alania. As a child, I practiced jiu-jitsu, boxing, and freestyle wrestling.

“I also read a lot,” says Vitaly. — I really liked Ernest Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” The prototype of the main character, Robert Jordan, was, by the way, an Ossetian, Soviet intelligence officer, Major Khadzhi-Umar Mamsurov.

At that time, I could spend hours reading biographies of intelligence officers from cover to cover. The same Richard Sorge. In the seventh grade I read Konstantin Simonov. Probably, it was then that I realized that I would bring more benefit to my country if I went to study to become an intelligence officer. And after graduating from the Suvorov School, he entered the Novosibirsk Higher Military School at the Faculty of Military Intelligence.

— Surely there was a favorite intelligence officer…

– Nikolai Kuznetsov (intelligence officer and partisan, Hero of the Soviet Union, who personally eliminated 11 generals and high-ranking officials of the administration of Nazi Germany. – “MK”). And all those who devoted themselves entirely to intelligence.

For example, the same Khadzhi-Umar Mamsurov. He often performed tasks that seemed impossible. Anything was possible for him. And not only in intelligence.

After all, in order to truly defend the Motherland, we need to develop in all areas. Know both chemistry and physics, be interested in more serious disciplines. For example, pedagogy. Every commander is obliged to train and educate his soldiers. I always tell my subordinates that the field is a soldier’s academy, and war is an exam. Only here, unfortunately, grades are given not with a pen, but with lead. Even the great Suvorov said: “A sea of ​​sweat in training – not a drop of blood in battle.”

After graduating from college, Vitaly received assignment to the Urals. Then there was service in one of the units in the Altai Territory. And in September 2021, Vitaly went to Syria and was the chief of staff of the battalion. Then a special military operation began.

— Do you remember the first sensations in the NWO zone?

– Certainly. Before this, I took part in exercises, visited Syria, I know what an artillery shell explosion is and its consequences. But in the North-West zone everything is different. Everything seems to be speeding up. How does it usually happen? You assess the situation, determine the coordinates, formulate a combat order, assign a task to your subordinates, begin to carry it out… But here there was very little time for all this. The dynamics of combat operations in the Northern Military District zone are accelerating exponentially. And in such situations, the commander must first of all think quickly. And the fighters need to quickly complete the task. There is no time to hesitate. Life threatening…

According to the officer, in a combat zone, when danger is nearby, it is always difficult. But despite this, a warrior should not be afraid.

— Fear is simply an instinct of self-preservation, so that you react correctly to danger, to some extent gain time. A sense of danger is necessary for the soldier to collect his thoughts, make the right decision and begin to act. Of course, I also experienced a feeling of fear. But he never showed it. It’s stupid to show fear. Especially the commander. I was more worried about my guys. Much worse than any danger is probably not completing and disrupting a combat mission.

I remember that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ rocket artillery covered us. The enemy struck using the Grad system and 155-mm shells. Yes, at such a moment you understand that if you hit it, it won’t seem too bad. But that was not what I was thinking about. As a battalion commander, I demanded that the soldiers not show any unnecessary emotions at this moment. Because all this affects the psychology of the military collective. And he categorically forbade subordinate commanders to panic.

On the front line, I think it is important that the commander is always in sight of his subordinates and sets an example. They must see that their battalion commander is with them, eating the same dry ration, the same food as them, and not some separately prepared one. That I am with them both in joy and in sorrow.

– Is it true that you are also a sniper? Where did you learn this difficult specialty?

— As a child, my grandfather and father often went to the mountains to hunt. On tour. I was eight years old then. It was interesting to learn how to shoot accurately. And only later, when I grew up, I was attracted to sniper work. At the military school, when I had free time, I read specialized literature. I remember a book about the exploits of the Soviet sniper during the Great Patriotic War Vasily Zaitsev, the story about the appearance of the Mosin rifle. But there was no goal to become a sniper. Although all shooting exercises always turned out with a bang.

– From what distance can you hit the bull’s eye?

“With a sniper rifle, it’s not difficult for me to hit a tall figure from a distance of 500–600 meters. These skills were not useful in the NWO zone. But other fighters performed these tasks, including my recommendations. The guys prepared their rifles, maintained them, and practiced their marksmanship skills. I taught how to use equipment and sights in special conditions – in rain, snow or frosty weather. I told, showed, and many of them took my advice into their arsenal.

— Did you make any real friends during your service? In general, is friendship stronger at the front than in civilian life?

“The combat situation, of course, brings us together. And trust in the commander is very important. Remember how in the song of the Lyube group: “batyanya battalion commander”? And it’s really worth a lot. When, for example, a 60-year-old subordinate addresses me as a commander, as a father.

I remember that on the front line we held the defense. And we didn’t give a single meter to the enemy. And the battles were very difficult, in difficult conditions. But there were practically no losses on our side. The guys appreciated everything. After the fight, many came up to me and shook my hand. And it was nice. This is mutual understanding between the soldier and the commander. So to speak, the relationship is in the trenches.

— You say that there is a feeling of fear. But not everyone is able to overcome fear. Have you ever met any cowardly people? And what to do with such people?

– Of course, not everyone is equally brave. What did I do? For educational purposes, without breaking the law, he took away their magazine with cartridges. He lined them up in front of the line and said: “If you refuse, you’re scared, then you’ll just voluntarily hand over grenades, magazines with ammunition and perform exclusively household tasks, and let everyone else fight and carry out combat missions.”

On the front line, for example, dugouts are needed. They need to be dug up and arranged. Someone has to do all this. Or you have to prepare firewood and carry water. If you’re a coward, go about your household chores. When I suggested this, some people’s conscience gnawed at them and their cowardice disappeared somewhere. An ordinary word, a simple conversation.

I asked the battalion political officer to conduct classes with these guys, tell them about our heroes of the Great Patriotic War, the same SVO. And the guys have changed for the better.

— Do you often manage to communicate with your family?

— Whenever possible, I called my mom and dad. I remember there was a moment when there was practically no connection. And the other commanders and I drew up a schedule for communicating with relatives. Once every three days, they made sure to notify the relatives of our soldiers that everything was fine. Everyone is alive and well.

— What was the most difficult thing for you personally on the front line, what made a lasting impression?

— I don’t have such a rating. A special military operation is underway. It’s hard for everyone. We receive a combat mission, begin to carry it out, then go back into battle. And there is practically no time for rest. Rest is the restoration of combat effectiveness. For commanders, personal rest, I think, should come last. They must think about how to restore the unit’s combat effectiveness, train personnel…

Probably the most difficult period for me was the fall of 2023. Then the enemy began to actively use kamikaze drones. And our electronic warfare systems could not always suppress them.

My fighters were always happy to have a regular fight. When the enemy attacks and we defend. They were not afraid of anything, they were only happy. But with kamikaze drones, of course, everything is more complicated. You don’t see it and don’t know where it’s coming from. Their speed is high and they are inconspicuous. It’s mentally difficult. But we also learned to fight this evil.

As for losses, unfortunately, any military action requires sacrifices. The commander must do everything possible and impossible to allow the least amount of losses.

And you know what else was hard to watch? Seeing ownerless cats and dogs in the Northern Military District zone, how they suffer from explosions and bombings. We found them in dugouts and buildings. And my fighters never abandoned them. Animals in that environment help and calm.

You can’t imagine how many cats have given birth in our North-West zone. (Smiles.) And even when there were movements and regroupings, all the animals went with us everywhere. Both on infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. Two cats with the call signs “Shashlyk” and “Patron” even left for the Altai Territory.

— Is there love in a war zone?

– Complex issue. There is not yet a single dictionary that provides an accurate description of this feeling. My unit was specific. We carried out different combat missions: both offensive and defensive. We had no women in the battalion. But a married couple served in the neighboring unit. Moreover, the wife was a sniper by profession. And she shot very well and accurately…

Vitaly admits that the same “winner gene” helps him defend his homeland, which, in his opinion, is inherent in almost all of us, regardless of nationality and gender.

He spent 1.5 years in the Northern Military District zone. And he says that now he has begun to appreciate life even more: “In ordinary life, you shouldn’t get lost; on the contrary, you should try to increase your potential, to be useful to our society. I advise the younger generation to study, improve, and play sports. And never lose heart.”