![]() “Guys, the building is cool inside, but from this angle, I’m confused. Turning to look back, Yan pointed out something that proved impossible to unsee. With this optimistic send-off, we left the building formerly known as the Wagner Center. Even the instructors were surprised at their skill level. It didn’t go well for me, but the other students flew well. The first day ended with flight simulators. They arrived in Soviet helmets and fought with tsarist-era Mosin rifles.” "There were a lot of problems with the mobilized soldiers. “It was fortunate for us that we fought against Ukraine’s Kraken regiment, who had dark uniforms,” says Berlin. "These older guys assumed if your uniform was not the same as theirs, then you were the enemy, so they shot without asking questions. But mobilized soldiers arrived in the old brown and green Russian uniforms," Berlin says. Professional soldiers and those who volunteered to join the ‘special military operation’ wore modern multicam camouflage. “In the first days, our brave paratroopers were defeated, an entire platoon was captured, and others were killed,” he recalled. Personally, his efforts to conquer the country amounted to nothing, he says. We had to learn everything on the fly when we realized this was an effective new weapon.”īerlin talks at length about what he saw in Ukraine. “Imagine a situation where you have no idea how to even fly a drone, and they already know how to drop grenades from it. “ flew drones brazenly right above our heads, hovering, and watching, and we weren’t able to shoot them down,” he recalls. He was part of the initial Russian invasion force into Ukraine in February 2022. Artillery can target the takeoff site and a goggle-wearing drone pilot can’t easily react to what is happening around him - whether enemy soldiers are approaching or a shell is incoming.īerlin tells us about his first acquaintance with drones. The drone should never take off near the operator. Like other private schools or drone courses, we only teach people how to operate drones and do not transfer personal data to third-party organizations, including the Ministry of Defense,” it says. In the FAQ section of the Wagner drone course, they make sure to separate themselves from the Russian military. He recommends instead signing on with private military contractors. “Firstly, the contract will be automatically renewed. “If you are determined, then I do not advise you to enter into a contract with the Ministry of Defense,” we are warned. Even after completing the Assault course, or even the Pro training, a student will not be ready for the realities of combat. You stood nearby, were passing by, whatever.”īerlin does not recommend going to war. “If there are problems, if someone comes - the police or anyone - I take full responsibility,” Glaz will later say. ![]() In addition, they are sent to a training ground where, despite a regional ban on drone flights, students fly in the open. The shorter course is branded Assault, while the two-week version is Pro.ĭuring the Pro course, students are taught how to assemble and operate the mass-produced Russian "Hortensia" kamikaze drone. The courses have two options: one week with five lessons for 35,000 rubles ($350) or two weeks of 10 lessons for 70,000 rubles ($700). Previously, Glaz says, they were based on the fourth floor, but now the Octagon training facility is expanding. He leads us to the 17th floor of the building. On the second day of the course, she fell ill and deferred her training to another date.Īn instructor with the call sign Glaz (Eye) eventually appears 15 minutes after our scheduled meeting time. She works in the construction industry and needs drone piloting skills to monitor building sites. The last of my three fellow students is Yulia. The Ukrainian soldiers shot accurately and killed Yan’s friend.Īt first, Yan says he wanted to be a medical instructor, but the training he had received was not considered sufficient for the Russian military, so he decided to become a drone operator instead. Later, it transpires there was more to the situation. ![]() Yan seems strangely angry with the Ukrainian military for shooting at him while he was in a Russian frontline position. “Have you ever been shot at?” Yan responds with his own question. He is the only one in our group who decided to go to war. But these are ordinary quadcopters, not the highly specialized FPV drones. Among the supplies he brings to the front are drones. ![]() Yan, another student, is some kind of military assistant tasked with taking supplies such as ammunition, first-aid kits, and other equipment to frontline Russian soldiers fighting in Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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