'Now is the turning point of the war'. Rubizh Brigade scouts about ground zero tasks and mobilization
'Kadzuma', a platoon commander of the Rubizh brigade's special forces reconnaissance company (photo: RBC-Ukraine/Vitalii Nosach)
Scouts are indispensable at the frontline: they gather information about the enemy, adjust fire, and conduct attacks. RBC-Ukraine spoke to three scouts of the Rubizh Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine about their tasks, motivation, and communication with civilians.
Since the full-scale war started, Ukrainians have admired operations and drone attacks of intelligence, but most of its work goes unseen. Every day, they work from scratch, risking their lives to obtain data for the military.
Read about the everyday life of scouts, the attitude of civilians to the military, and the importance of supporting the frontline in the article below.
Universal warriors. What are the tasks of intelligence at ground zero?
Our interlocutors are three scouts of the Rubizh brigade: platoon commander 'Mishok', platoon commander 'Kadzuma' and chief sergeant 'Khrest'. All of them are motivated to defend the country.
'Mishok' and 'Khrest' went to the military recruitment office at the beginning of the great war, looking for a unit to apply their skills. 'Kadzuma' started out as an evacuation worker and later became a scout. They consider their service in Rubizh to be one of the most important decisions in their lives.
The scouts perform a variety of tasks.
“We are universal warriors: we make fire raids, conduct assaults, and bring people into positions,” 'Kadzuma' explains. “Fire raids are needed to identify the enemy, their numbers, and positions. The success of the raid determines whether it is an assault or a retreat. “If it was successful, we gained a foothold, if not, we retreated,” he adds.
'Mishok', platoon commander of the Rubizh brigade's special forces reconnaissance company (photo: RBC-Ukraine/Vitalii Nosach)
A scout is a person who searches for and finds information about the enemy on the front line for the higher command, filters it, and brings a summary to the command to make it easier for them to perform tasks - for the infantry and other units.
The scout says a lot of reconnaissance work has been taken over by drones recently. They can see further and better, they have thermal imaging cameras. All of this can be viewed on video, enlarged in some places, and expanded in others.
“A scout is an infantryman at the highest level who can do the work that an infantryman cannot do. When the brigade enters a new area, the scout is the first person to enter the position. The first person to communicate with the unit we are changing,” adds 'Mishok'.
What qualities a scout should have
The scouts choose newcomers based on their physical fitness, moral qualities, and lack of problems with the law.
“We are happy to recruit motivated people. It is important that they do not fail in difficult moments. In critical situations, people either break down or show their best side,” says 'Mishok'.
'Khrest' adds that a scout must have critical thinking and be able to make decisions on the spot.
'Khrest', chief sergeant of the reconnaissance platoon (photo: RBC-Ukraine/Vitalii Nosach)
Training begins with basic courses, after which scouts undergo intensive training in a platoon. “Our leadership promotes development. There are courses, including foreign ones. The main thing is the desire to learn,” 'Kadzuma' said.
Sometimes newcomers come with stereotypes. 'Kadzuma' recalls a case when a recruit was afraid of a simple task because of misconceptions about intelligence. “He thought he was being sent 'for meat,' when all he had to do was bring in a charging station,” he adds.
Besides all other skills, it is important for a scout to have critical thinking and the ability to make decisions quickly (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
All our interlocutors say that good relations with the command are important in war.
“We are very lucky with the company command because all our commanders now are those who have gone from fighter to commander all the way through our journey, they know what it is like. They are people like us. You listen to him as a person, you understand why he is a commander. You feel something inside,” says 'Khrest'.
Scouts and other specialties regularly undergo training and go on shooting exercises (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
Attitude to mobilization
The Rubizh Brigade recruits mostly motivated people, so 'Kadzuma' has a specific attitude towards forced mobilization.
“If a person wanted to, he would have found his place on his own. And waiting until you are taken away in a bus and then being offended is a mistake,” he says.
Anyone can become a scout, the guys are convinced. All that is needed is a person's desire to learn new things (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
The soldier notes that it is important to motivate people and show them opportunities. For example, to give them a drone so they can see how to fight effectively.
“We are now at a turning point in the war: either we win or we lose,” he adds.
Military is often confused with recruitment officers
Civilians' attitudes toward the military vary. 'Kadzuma' says you can recognize looks of respect or disdain.
Often they are confused with the Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support staff. Once a woman approached him in a shopping center and asked him not to take her husband away. Another time, in a supermarket, he was mistaken for a security guard and asked which shelf the toilet paper was on.
The military is good at distinguishing respect, disrespect, or contempt in the eyes of others, 'Kadzuma' says (photo: RBC-Ukraine/Vitalii Nosach)
'Mishok' admits that he used to listen to Russian music and read Russian books. But 2022 changed everything. During the great war, he became uninterested in communicating with those who were not involved in the war.
In his opinion, being involved means doing everything possible for the front. For example, his mother's friend, who works in a kindergarten, creates drawings for the military with her children and personally sends them to the front. In the soldier's opinion, even this is enough to help.
Motivation and future after the war
The military says that they are provided with uniforms, ammunition, and weapons, as well as training in Ukraine and abroad. However, they lack motivated people.
“The mobilized have the opportunity to prove themselves. If you show that you can work with an RPG or know Western weapons, you will have a chance,” says 'Mishok'. One can choose a specialty at an interview by contacting the Instagram account.
The brigade provides full training (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
After the war, the guys plan to stay in the Defense Forces. 'Kadzuma' is interested in developing the peacetime army in NATO. 'Khrest' wants the unit to keep its level, while 'Mishok' emphasizes that the efforts and deaths of the heroes should not be in vain.
“I want to make sure that the unit is ready for a new war, because Russia will not retreat. Their imperialism is indestructible, so we must remain hopeful and ready,” he concludes.
