WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 We're looking at a set of documents today for 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:06.559 this deep dive that really, I mean, it forces 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:08.900 you to completely recalibrate how you think about 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:11.140 the word readiness. Yeah, it really does. Because 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:14.460 we are diving into the history of the 39th Motorized 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:16.620 Infantry Battalion, which is often called Dnipro 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:18.719 II. And, you know, usually when you look at military 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:20.620 history, you focus on the big arrows on the map, 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:22.960 right? The grand strategy. The macro level stuff. 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:25.460 Sure. Exactly. But this source material is different. 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:29.780 It's incredibly gritty. It's about a specific 00:00:29.780 --> 00:00:33.159 group of neighbors who mobilized in 2014 and 00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:35.539 just the absolute logistical nightmare they walked 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:38.310 into. It is a fascinating and, frankly, just 00:00:38.310 --> 00:00:41.630 a very heavy case study. We are tracking the 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:44.630 life cycle of this unit from its, well, its pretty 00:00:44.630 --> 00:00:47.570 chaotic formation in May 2014, straight through 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:49.469 some of the most intense combat of the early 00:00:49.469 --> 00:00:52.270 Russo -Ukrainian War, down to its eventual transformation, 00:00:52.310 --> 00:00:54.950 and then its absorption into the 55th Artillery 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:57.990 Brigade in 2016. And right off the bat, I want 00:00:57.990 --> 00:01:00.590 to address the elephant in the room regarding 00:01:00.590 --> 00:01:02.509 their equipment. Because I was looking at the 00:01:02.509 --> 00:01:05.900 logistics report for... June 2014, so this is 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:07.519 right when they are deploying to the front line. 00:01:07.739 --> 00:01:09.879 And the numbers just didn't make any sense to 00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:12.019 me. I had to reread it. You're looking at the 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:14.140 discrepancy between their heavy metal and their 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:16.780 personal protection. Exactly. The battalion had 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:20.060 managed to secure 39 armored personnel carriers. 00:01:20.540 --> 00:01:23.420 BTRs. Right, BTRs. Now, for those listening who 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:25.500 maybe aren't armor geeks, these are the eight 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.319 -wheel amphibious vehicles, usually BTR -60s 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.239 or 70s in this specific context. Yeah. And they 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.640 aren't tanks, obviously, but they are substantial 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.180 machines. They're designed to carry a squad into 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:38.340 battle, support them with heavy machine gun fire. 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:41.400 And they had 39 of these. Which is a lot. That 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:43.379 implies a fairly high degree of mechanization 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:46.200 for a volunteer unit. That is a serious amount 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.680 of firepower and mobility. It is. But here is 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.480 the kicker. For the entire battalion operating 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.200 those 39 vehicles, plus all their support staff, 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:00.439 they had exactly 10 bulletproof vests. 10. It's 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:03.180 a terrifying ratio. And I think we really need 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:04.900 to pause on the tactical implications of that 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:06.920 because it's not just about workplace safety, 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:09.560 right? It dictates how you actually fight. How 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:13.460 so? Well, a BTR is essentially an armored taxi. 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:16.500 Its job is to get the infantry to the fight where 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:20.280 they dismount and engage. But BTR armor is thin? 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:24.280 It will stop small arms fire, but a heavy machine 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:26.500 gun or an RPG goes right through it. Which is 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:28.659 why you always see that footage of soldiers riding 00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:30.500 on top of them, right? Precisely. You ride on 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:32.580 top to avoid the concussion inside if the vehicle 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:34.599 hits a mine. Right. But if you are riding on 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:37.340 top without body armor and you take shrapnel 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:40.599 or sniper fire, you are a casualty instantly. 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:43.020 Yeah, you're totally exposed. And if you dismount 00:02:43.020 --> 00:02:45.199 to fight... You're doing it naked, effectively. 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:49.719 So having 39 BTRs but only 10 vests means your 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:52.219 infantry cannot effectively support the vehicles. 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:54.879 Which means the vehicles become vulnerable. Exactly. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:57.560 They become vulnerable because the infantry is 00:02:57.560 --> 00:02:59.819 too exposed to push out and protect them. It 00:02:59.819 --> 00:03:02.620 completely paralyzes your tactics. So how does 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:05.000 this actually happen? I mean, we aren't talking 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.979 about the 19th century here. This is 2014. How 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:11.599 does a modern state send a battalion to the front 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:14.379 line with disposed... disposable grenade launchers 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:16.699 in armored vehicles but they just forget the 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:19.520 Kevlar. This is where the source material gets 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:21.699 into the weeds of the bureaucracy, and it is 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:25.000 infuriatingly mundane. It wasn't that the vests 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:27.060 didn't exist anywhere in the world. It was that 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:29.699 the mechanism to buy them just broke down. The 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:31.860 Anti -Monopoly Committee? Right. The Verkhovna 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:34.099 Rada's Anti -Monopoly Committee suspended the 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:36.300 tender process for purchasing vests at public 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:38.039 expense. I have to stop you there because that 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:41.060 sounds absolutely insane to me. You have a war 00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:43.379 kicking off in the east, Crimea is already gone, 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:45.620 and you have a committee in Kiev effectively 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:48.000 saying, quote, Hold on. We need to double check 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:49.699 the paperwork on this contract to make sure it's 00:03:49.699 --> 00:03:51.879 fair competitive bidding. That is exactly what 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:54.500 happened. Wow. It is a classic example of peacetime 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:57.520 institutions failing to pivot to a wartime footing. 00:03:57.979 --> 00:04:01.219 In peacetime, suspending a tender to prevent 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:03.800 corruption or monopoly pricing is good governance. 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:06.560 Sure makes sense. But in an emergency mobilization, 00:04:06.819 --> 00:04:10.379 it's lethal. They were applying the logic of 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:14.379 a slow, transparent procurement process to a 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:17.139 situation that required immediate decisive action. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:19.680 And the soldiers on the ground paid the price 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.160 for that strict adherence to procedure. They 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:25.480 did. But the source also mentions private donors, 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:28.040 though. Because I recall reading that there was 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.420 a huge volunteer movement in Ukraine at the time, 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.360 people crowdsourcing supplies, buying things 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.759 off the shelf. Why didn't that fill the gap for 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:38.120 Dnipro, too? It did for some units, absolutely. 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.360 But for the 39th, the source specifically notes 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.040 that promises made by local philanthropists in 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.079 the Dnipropetrovsk region simply went unfulfilled. 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:49.730 Do we know why? We don't. We don't know if that 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:52.029 was due to a lack of actual funds or just logistical 00:04:52.029 --> 00:04:54.629 failures in getting the gear there, but the result 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:56.649 on the ground was the same. You had a battalion 00:04:56.649 --> 00:04:58.569 of local guys. Right, because remember, Dnipro 00:04:58.569 --> 00:05:01.889 II was a territorial defense battalion. That 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:04.029 means it was almost entirely composed of residents 00:05:04.029 --> 00:05:07.470 from that specific oblast. Just neighbors, basically. 00:05:07.730 --> 00:05:09.449 Yes, heading into the grinder with just their 00:05:09.449 --> 00:05:11.730 uniforms. Let's talk about that territorial defense 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:14.250 designation for a second. Because I think there 00:05:14.250 --> 00:05:15.790 might be a misconception that these were just 00:05:15.790 --> 00:05:17.509 random guys running around with hunting rifles. 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:20.029 This was a formal legal structure, right? Yes. 00:05:20.250 --> 00:05:23.370 These were the BTRO, the Battalions of Territorial 00:05:23.370 --> 00:05:26.829 Defense. The order came down on... April 30, 00:05:27.149 --> 00:05:30.290 2014, from Acting President Turchinov. Okay. 00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:33.610 The idea was to quickly raise local forces to 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:36.110 guard critical infrastructure, guard the borders, 00:05:36.310 --> 00:05:38.990 because the regular standing army had been just 00:05:38.990 --> 00:05:41.550 severely hollowed out by decades of neglect. 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:44.009 So they weren't intended to be frontline assault 00:05:44.009 --> 00:05:46.110 troops? Not at all. They weren't supposed to 00:05:46.110 --> 00:05:47.589 be stormtroopers. They were supposed to be the 00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:50.430 rear guard, holding checkpoints, securing bridges. 00:05:50.970 --> 00:05:54.129 But as we know, in the summer of 2014, the concepts 00:05:54.129 --> 00:05:56.980 of rear and front were... Extremely fluid. Very 00:05:56.980 --> 00:05:59.939 fluid. They were mobilized in May. By June, they're 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:02.699 dealing with this massive vest crisis. And by 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:05.620 July, they are deployed near Volnovaka. Right. 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.220 And this is where the reality of the conflict 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:10.779 shifts violently from guarding checkpoints to 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:13.439 asymmetric warfare. You're referring to the incident 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:18.800 at Kamyanka. Yes. July 21st, 2014. This event 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.399 really marks the loss of innocence for the unit, 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.870 if you want to call it that. The report details 00:06:23.870 --> 00:06:26.790 a minibus approaching a checkpoint. Again, put 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:28.449 yourself in the shoes of these guys for a minute. 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:31.209 They are locals probably just weeks out of their 00:06:31.209 --> 00:06:33.829 civilian jobs. Yeah, accountants, mechanics. 00:06:34.129 --> 00:06:37.329 Exactly. They are manning a roadblock near Kamianka. 00:06:37.689 --> 00:06:40.430 They see a civilian vehicle, a minibus, approaching. 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:43.069 That is something they probably saw a hundred 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:45.490 times a day. And that familiarity is exactly 00:06:45.490 --> 00:06:48.589 what the enemy exploited. Because the minibus 00:06:48.589 --> 00:06:50.889 was loaded with explosives. A suicide attack. 00:06:51.129 --> 00:06:54.670 Yes, essentially a VBIE, a vehicle -borne improvised 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:57.269 explosive device. Which is a tactic we usually 00:06:57.269 --> 00:06:59.290 associate with insurgencies in the Middle East, 00:06:59.350 --> 00:07:01.310 not necessarily a conventional war in Europe. 00:07:01.449 --> 00:07:03.949 It really highlights the chaotic hybrid nature 00:07:03.949 --> 00:07:06.350 of the fighting in 2014. It wasn't just artillery 00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:09.490 duels across fields. It was deception. The bus 00:07:09.490 --> 00:07:11.750 approached the checkpoint and detonated. And 00:07:11.750 --> 00:07:14.410 five soldiers from the 39th were killed. Instantly. 00:07:14.490 --> 00:07:16.649 And this goes back to our earlier equipment discussion. 00:07:17.230 --> 00:07:20.250 Because against a truck bomb, a bulletproof vest 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:22.389 isn't going to save you anyway. No, it won't. 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:24.850 But the psychological impact of that attack, 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:28.370 realizing that literally anything rolling down 00:07:28.370 --> 00:07:30.870 the road, any civilian vehicle could be a weapon, 00:07:30.970 --> 00:07:33.910 that fundamentally changes how you operate. It 00:07:33.910 --> 00:07:36.750 changes everything. You go from being a guy guarding 00:07:36.750 --> 00:07:39.269 your neighborhood at a checkpoint to a soldier. 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:42.740 who has to view every single civilian as a potential 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:45.500 mortal threat. It hardens the unit very quickly, 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:47.379 and it happened right before they were thrown 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.720 into what was arguably the most catastrophic 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:53.290 engagement of the entire early war. We really 00:07:53.290 --> 00:07:55.269 need to talk about Ilovaisk. Yeah. If you follow 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:57.829 this history at all, the word Ilovaisk carries 00:07:57.829 --> 00:07:59.709 an immense amount of weight. It is synonymous 00:07:59.709 --> 00:08:02.170 with tragedy. And the 39th was right there. They 00:08:02.170 --> 00:08:04.250 were. On August 1st, the infantry and security 00:08:04.250 --> 00:08:06.610 companies of the battalion transferred to the 00:08:06.610 --> 00:08:09.149 Nagopelya district. And geographically, this 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:12.379 is critical. Extremely. Mando Gepilya is right 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:15.180 between Ilovaisk and Kutynikov. They established 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:17.800 a base camp there, effectively forming part of 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.060 the outer ring of the Ukrainian operation to 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:22.480 retake Ilovaisk. And just to set the stage for 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.379 you listening, Ilovaisk was a major railway hub. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:28.000 Taking it would have cut vital supply lines to 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.100 the separatist stronghold in Donetsk. So the 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:33.559 Ukrainian command committed a lot of these volunteer 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:36.799 battalions. You had Donbass, Dnipro -1, and our 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.250 guys, Dnipro -2. to encircle the city. That was 00:08:40.250 --> 00:08:42.750 the plan. But then the tables turned dramatically. 00:08:43.169 --> 00:08:45.389 Russian regular forces crossed the border in 00:08:45.389 --> 00:08:48.330 large numbers, and the besiegers suddenly became 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:51.289 the besieged. The 39th found themselves trapped 00:08:51.289 --> 00:08:54.070 in what is now known as the cauldron. The source 00:08:54.070 --> 00:08:56.210 material describes fierce battles during this 00:08:56.210 --> 00:08:58.590 time, which honestly feels like a massive understatement. 00:08:58.669 --> 00:09:00.169 It is an understatement. We're talking about 00:09:00.169 --> 00:09:02.269 being surrounded on all sides, running low on 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:04.809 ammunition, with higher level command and control 00:09:04.809 --> 00:09:06.970 essentially breaking down. And this desperate 00:09:06.970 --> 00:09:09.169 situation leads... directly to the infamous Green 00:09:09.169 --> 00:09:11.990 Corridor on August 29th. Now, for those who might 00:09:11.990 --> 00:09:14.470 just think of a corridor as a road, this is a 00:09:14.470 --> 00:09:16.669 negotiated diplomatic agreement, right? It was 00:09:16.669 --> 00:09:19.009 supposed to be. The Russians and the separatist 00:09:19.009 --> 00:09:21.129 forces allegedly agreed to let the Ukrainian 00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:24.070 units withdraw in a column, provided they didn't 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:26.250 engage. A safe passage out of the encirclement. 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:29.570 That was the promise. But as we now know, it 00:09:29.570 --> 00:09:32.490 was a trap. As the columns of Ukrainian vehicles, 00:09:32.710 --> 00:09:34.970 trucks, buses, and those BTRs we talked about 00:09:34.970 --> 00:09:36.629 earlier moved out into the open countryside, 00:09:36.990 --> 00:09:39.730 they were engaged. Just completely ambushed. 00:09:39.730 --> 00:09:41.789 Ambushed from pre -sighted artillery positions 00:09:41.789 --> 00:09:44.629 and direct tank fire. It wasn't a withdrawal 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:47.110 at all. It was a shooting gallery. The source 00:09:47.110 --> 00:09:49.590 mentions the Book of Memory, which tracks Ukrainian 00:09:49.590 --> 00:09:52.529 casualties, and it lists the specific losses 00:09:52.529 --> 00:09:56.090 for the 39th Battalion here. Eight soldiers killed 00:09:56.090 --> 00:09:58.690 near Ilovusk. Eight confirmed killed from the 00:09:58.690 --> 00:10:01.110 39th in that specific sequence. Yeah. But you 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:03.370 have to imagine the sheer chaos of that day. 00:10:03.549 --> 00:10:06.470 In a situation like that, unit cohesion completely 00:10:06.470 --> 00:10:09.850 breaks down. You have guys from the 39th jumping 00:10:09.850 --> 00:10:11.990 onto any vehicle that's moving, maybe a truck 00:10:11.990 --> 00:10:14.769 from the 93rd Brigade or a van from the Donbass 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:17.980 Battalion. Just trying to survive. Exactly. And 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:21.019 the BTRs, those 39 vehicles they started with, 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:23.240 many of them were destroyed or had to be abandoned 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:25.580 during the breakout. If you survive an event 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:28.299 like Ilovaisk, it permanently changes the DNA 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:30.340 of the unit. You simply aren't the same group 00:10:30.340 --> 00:10:32.259 of guys who signed up in Dnipro three months 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:34.559 earlier. It's amazing they weren't disbanded 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:36.940 right then and there. A lot of units that went 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.659 through the Ilovaisk cauldron were deemed combat 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:42.659 ineffective afterwards and just folded. But the 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:44.799 39th kept going. They did keep going, but they 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.000 had to evolve. And I think this is the second 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:49.039 half of the story that often gets ignored. We 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:52.039 focus so heavily on the tragedy of 2014, but 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:54.320 the reconstruction of these units in late 2014 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:58.360 and 2015 is just as important. This is the reorganization 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:00.820 phase we see in the document. Yes. In November 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:03.539 2014, the territorial defense label gets officially 00:11:03.539 --> 00:11:07.220 dropped. They are reorganized into the 39th Separate 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:09.879 Motorized Infantry Battalion. That sounds like 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:12.480 a subtle semantic shift to a civilian, but it's 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:14.769 actually a huge doctrinal shift, isn't it? It's 00:11:14.769 --> 00:11:17.730 massive. A territorial defense battalion is essentially 00:11:17.730 --> 00:11:20.350 a local militia equipped with light weapons. 00:11:20.629 --> 00:11:24.350 A motorized infantry battalion is a regular formal 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:27.389 army component. Right. It implies standardized 00:11:27.389 --> 00:11:30.230 logistics, standardized training and integration 00:11:30.230 --> 00:11:32.509 into the larger command structure of the armed 00:11:32.509 --> 00:11:34.970 forces. They were transferred directly to the 00:11:34.970 --> 00:11:37.450 command of the 55th Artillery Brigade. Which 00:11:37.450 --> 00:11:39.610 is one of the oldest and most respected artillery 00:11:39.610 --> 00:11:43.309 units in Ukraine. So Dnipro 2 goes from holding 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:46.389 local checkpoints to what exactly? What is their 00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:50.029 daily job now? Security for the big guns. Artillery 00:11:50.029 --> 00:11:53.389 is the god of war. as the saying goes, but it 00:11:53.389 --> 00:11:55.789 is incredibly vulnerable up close. Because it 00:11:55.789 --> 00:11:57.889 sits miles behind the front lines firing over 00:11:57.889 --> 00:12:01.289 the horizon. Exactly. But if enemy reconnaissance 00:12:01.289 --> 00:12:03.850 units or special forces manage to slip past the 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:05.809 front lines and get to those artillery batteries, 00:12:05.830 --> 00:12:07.970 the guns are toast. They can't defend themselves 00:12:07.970 --> 00:12:10.429 well at close range. So the 39th becomes the 00:12:10.429 --> 00:12:13.809 shield. Yes. Their job became protecting the 00:12:13.809 --> 00:12:16.610 55th. screening the firing positions, setting 00:12:16.610 --> 00:12:18.629 up defensive perimeters, ensuring the artillery 00:12:18.629 --> 00:12:21.070 could operate and relocate safely. It's a much 00:12:21.070 --> 00:12:23.830 more professional, specialized role. It requires 00:12:23.830 --> 00:12:26.649 intense coordination. You have to pack up and 00:12:26.649 --> 00:12:28.649 move when the guns move. You have to communicate 00:12:28.649 --> 00:12:30.929 on the same encrypted radio networks. And you 00:12:30.929 --> 00:12:33.269 have to understand artillery doctrine. Right. 00:12:33.389 --> 00:12:35.929 It really shows that the Ukrainian military was 00:12:35.929 --> 00:12:38.870 learning and learning rapidly how to take these 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:41.789 initial volunteer bursts of energy and integrate 00:12:41.789 --> 00:12:44.009 them into a sustainable professional machine. 00:12:44.409 --> 00:12:46.629 And that integration effectively signaled the 00:12:46.629 --> 00:12:49.330 end of the 39th as an independent, standalone 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:53.610 culture. By 2016, the unit was officially disbanded, 00:12:53.610 --> 00:12:56.009 or rather, fully absorbed. Right, they didn't 00:12:56.009 --> 00:12:58.190 just all go home. No, they became a dedicated 00:12:58.190 --> 00:13:01.070 security battalion specifically for the 55th 00:13:01.070 --> 00:13:03.889 Brigade. They traded their unique, independent 00:13:03.889 --> 00:13:07.289 Dini Pro 2 identity for institutional permanence. 00:13:07.450 --> 00:13:09.549 I want to circle back to the human cost of this 00:13:09.549 --> 00:13:11.950 entire journey, though. We talked about the five 00:13:11.950 --> 00:13:15.029 men lost at Kamyanka, the eight lost in the breakout 00:13:15.029 --> 00:13:18.029 at Ilovaisk. But the source gives us a final 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:21.289 tally for the 2014 to 2017 period. The Book of 00:13:21.289 --> 00:13:23.789 Memory lists 28 individuals from the battalion 00:13:23.789 --> 00:13:27.269 who lost their lives. 28. It's one of those numbers 00:13:27.269 --> 00:13:29.570 that is small enough to comprehend on a human 00:13:29.570 --> 00:13:32.669 level, but large enough to completely devastate 00:13:32.669 --> 00:13:36.149 a community. If these men were all from the Dnepropetrovsk 00:13:36.149 --> 00:13:39.129 region, that's 28 families in close proximity 00:13:39.129 --> 00:13:41.529 to each other. And the community deeply felt 00:13:41.529 --> 00:13:44.610 that loss. The source actually describes a memorial 00:13:44.610 --> 00:13:48.490 ceremony held on December 8, 2018, in the city 00:13:48.490 --> 00:13:51.600 of Dnipro. And it wasn't just a standard military 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:54.580 parade. No, it sounded deeply religious and civic. 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.559 Very much so. Chaplains from the Ukrainian Orthodox 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:00.539 Church of the Kiev Patriarchate were there, praying 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:02.860 not just for the fallen soldiers, but specifically 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:05.340 for the families left behind. There was a specific 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:07.139 award mentioned in the text that really caught 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:10.480 my eye. Bishop Simeon awarded the soldiers posthumously. 00:14:10.700 --> 00:14:13.220 And the name of the award wasn't for valor or... 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.539 for bravery, like you might expect. What was 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:18.179 it? It was for sacrifice and love for Ukraine. 00:14:18.379 --> 00:14:21.179 That phrasing is incredibly telling. Sacrifice 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:23.320 and love. It really feels like it circles back 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:25.379 to the very beginning of our conversation today. 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:27.789 Back to the equipment shortage. I think you're 00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:30.289 absolutely right, because why do you sign up 00:14:30.289 --> 00:14:32.950 to fight when you know there are no vests? Why 00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:35.789 do you voluntarily get on top of a BTR knowing 00:14:35.789 --> 00:14:38.750 you are entirely exposed to sniper fire? It isn't 00:14:38.750 --> 00:14:40.309 because you're a professional soldier blindly 00:14:40.309 --> 00:14:43.950 following orders, at least not in May 2014. No, 00:14:44.029 --> 00:14:46.230 it's because of that love component the award 00:14:46.230 --> 00:14:49.309 mentions. Love for your home, your block, your 00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:52.590 city. That raw emotion is what bridges the massive 00:14:52.590 --> 00:14:55.509 logistical gap when the state fails to provide. 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:57.779 But, and I think this is the critical tension 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:00.460 of this entire story, that love only gets you 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:03.919 so far. The award honors the sacrifice, but the 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:06.440 history of the 39th Battalion also serves as 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:09.000 a stark warning about relying on that sacrifice. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.860 Exactly. Love doesn't stop shrapnel from an artillery 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.700 shell. Sacrifice doesn't magically replace a 00:15:14.700 --> 00:15:17.320 secure, functioning supply chain. The men of 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:19.299 the 39th Battalion did everything that was asked 00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:21.379 of them. They held the line. They endured the 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:24.019 encirclement at Ilovaisk. But the severe friction 00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:26.940 between their willingness to serve and the state's 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:30.019 initial inability to equip them, that is the 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:33.100 real core of the story. It brings up a very provocative 00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:35.320 thought about modern warfare that I want to leave 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:38.559 you with. We often fetishize the high -end technology, 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:40.580 right? We talk about the drones, the satellite 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:43.279 imagery, the precision missiles. The hardware. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:46.409 The hardware, yeah. But the story of Dnipro 2 00:15:46.409 --> 00:15:49.970 is a harsh reminder that at the very start of 00:15:49.970 --> 00:15:53.149 a sudden crisis, it is often just regular people 00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:56.330 in mismatched uniforms, driving civilian cars 00:15:56.330 --> 00:15:59.570 or underarmored BTRs, desperately trying to buy 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:02.049 time for the slow bureaucracy to finally catch 00:16:02.049 --> 00:16:04.769 up. And the ultimate cost of buying that time 00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:08.419 is paid in human lives. Those 28 names on that 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:10.600 memorial list are literally the price of the 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.860 delay between a tender suspension in Kyiv and 00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:15.019 the eventual arrival of proper gear on the front 00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:17.620 line. So when you look at the legacy of the 39th, 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:20.240 it isn't just a unit history. It's a profound 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:23.330 lesson in the lethality of logistics. And a true 00:16:23.330 --> 00:16:25.110 testament to the fact that while professional 00:16:25.110 --> 00:16:27.330 armies fight wars, it is very often just local 00:16:27.330 --> 00:16:29.350 neighbors who are the first to defend their homes. 00:16:30.009 --> 00:16:32.210 The transformation from a group of guys sharing 00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:35.850 10 vests to a highly professional security battalion 00:16:35.850 --> 00:16:38.909 for an artillery brigade, it perfectly encapsulates 00:16:38.909 --> 00:16:41.549 the painful maturation of the entire Ukrainian 00:16:41.549 --> 00:16:43.889 defense effort. They learn those lessons in blood. 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.299 A very sobering but necessary look at the reality 00:16:47.299 --> 00:16:49.580 on the ground. We're going to leave it right 00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:51.919 there for this deep dive. It's a story that starts 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.799 with a bureaucratic spreadsheet error and ends 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:56.659 on the alley of heroes. Thanks for taking the 00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:58.620 time to explore this with us. We'll catch you 00:16:58.620 --> 00:16:59.059 on the next one.