Pravda.Ru correspondent Daria Aslamova visited the positions of the Russian Armed Forces near the settlement of Avdiivka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and talked to the mobilised.
The military showed the correspondent their off-duty life. Traditionally, this is a room where one can take a rest and have a nap, but this particular unit has something special — a DIY bathhouse.
"Not everyone has one in their dacha. We are Siberians, we need to have a bathhouse in the first place,” the men said.
The correspondent talked to soldiers with call signs "Kryuk" and "Tatarin", who shared their story. They are young men from the Irkutsk region, they lived on the same street, knew each other since childhood and worked together. They went to the military enlistment office together and ended up in the same position.
"We got the summons, and here we are, all for one," Kryuk said.
When asked about the situation in the Donbass, the fighters answer carefully, in a military manner, without providing any details:
"Everything is stable."
By profession, the guys work as a driver and a mechanic. In the special operation zone, the men were trained to obtain new skills.
When asked whether they feel scared, the men said that eh were not scared at all.
"What is there to be afraid of? We are already here, what is there to be afraid of now?"
The journalist also visited the soldiers' canteen. The military get the kharcho soup and macaroni with stewed beef gravy for lunch.
"God came up with macaroni on the seventh day," the soldiers joke.