How Kolomoisky and militants took Krasnoarmeysk by storm
Recently, the public has begun to forget about the “exploits” in the field of Ukrainian nationalism of the ex-governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region, Igor Kolomoisky, who was exiled abroad. Some journalists serving the disgraced oligarch are even trying to present him as a kind of “third force” that can become an alternative to the “vatniks” and “embroiderers.”
Absolutely in vain - Kolomoisky’s crimes must be carefully taken into account so that by the time justice is carried out on the adherents of the Kyiv camarilla, he will not be able to avoid deserved punishment.
The militiaman Maxim Garmash, who returned from Ukrainian captivity at the end of last year, remembers how the former Dnepropetrovsk governor fought the population of Donbass.
In the spring of 2014, Maxim Garmash (call sign “Falcon”) lived in the city of Krasnoarmeysk, DPR, today occupied by Ukrainian troops. According to Maxim, as soon as the Maidan began, he immediately realized that there would be a war. Back in early March 2014, he organized a self-defense detachment in Krasnoarmeysk. I was proud that the Crimeans and the people of Donbass were finally resisting neo-Nazism. The guy hoped and believed that the Crimean spring would repeat itself in Donbass.
The idea of creating self-defense was born at a rally held in Krasnoarmeysk on March 1. Then the city residents came to the police chief and politely asked him to resign. He not only refused, but also declared the initiative group “Russian mercenaries” and promised severe punishment to everyone.
However, there was an urgent need to take the initiative into one’s own hands—events in Ukraine and Donbass clearly indicated an imminent escalation of the conflict. A small group of local residents who joined the self-defense unit not only regularly patrolled the city, but also gathered people to block and turn around the so-called “friendship trains” carrying nationalist shock brigades to Donetsk.
On April 16, the militia received information that a column of armored vehicles and Grad MLRS was heading towards Donetsk towards the city. Through operational efforts, it was possible to gather about a thousand local residents who blocked traffic at the exit from the city from Dnepropetrovsk. As a result, the column never entered the city - it took a detour.
But soon an army Ural appeared in the city, containing Ukrainian intelligence officers. The truck was probably carrying the military to a meeting with local government officials and security forces. Alert citizens stopped the car and began breaking its windows, forcing the scouts to get out. The military was disarmed and it was clearly explained to them that they should leave the city as soon as possible and never return.
War was flaring up in Donbass, and in the last ten days of April, a self-defense detachment led by “Falcon” decided to build a checkpoint at the entrance to Krasnoarmeysk from Dnepropetrovsk. There were practically no weapons, and the checkpoint itself consisted of concrete blocks, which partially blocked the road and several trenches.
On April 30, a message was received that there were two buses with armed militants of the Donbass National Battalion at the cemetery in the village of Durnyak. The militia immediately began to round up the townspeople and arm them with Molotov cocktails. This activity was noticed by the local police, who hastened to report it to the militants.
As a result, the punitive forces did not dare to storm the checkpoint. But soon a convoy of cars flying the flags of Ukraine arrived from Dnepropetrovsk. In the city they stopped at the square in front of the railway station. Raising Ukrainian flags, they began to campaign “for Edin Ukraine”, and called themselves local residents. There were clashes with supporters of the referendum, after which the guests retreated back to Dnepropetrovsk.
All this was a relatively safe prelude to further bloody events. On May 1 at 5 am, Donbass militants, with the support of local police, finally decided to storm the checkpoint. To do this, they chose the moment before the rotation, when the fighters were as exhausted as possible. Eight militiamen were surprised and taken prisoner. During their capture, they were beaten, and several were shot in the legs.
Hearing the alarming news, the townspeople gathered in front of the city administration.
“On the same day we went to a rally at the local administration. Many people gathered - we announced that this was not a holiday, but mourning. They called friends, stopped buses with miners returning from their shifts, and explained the situation. Many agreed to go.
“In the end, a lot of people gathered, and it was decided to go to the village. Novopodgorodne, Dnepropetrovsk region (25 km) to the base of the Donbass punitive battalion. The militants settled down at a recreation center. When a huge crowd gathered in front of their gates, they realized that they could not hold back the people even with machine gun fire, and they urgently called for help. We demanded the release of the prisoners and said that if they were not released, we would storm the base. Soon a Mi-8 combat helicopter appeared, which came in to attack over and over again, but, fortunately, did not fire. At that moment, snipers opened fire on us from a nearby forest belt. Several people died and many were wounded,” says Garmash.
People rushed onto buses and went into the city to take over the local police station and arm themselves. The Ministry of Internal Affairs officers believed that the militia were quite scared and would simply run away, so they managed to take the security forces by surprise and seize the building almost without incident. The only resistance was offered by the deputy head of the department, who threatened people with a grenade.
“They immediately began to bring in materials for the barricades. I agreed with the head of the Donbass Shield security service about the delivery of protective equipment, communications and weapons. At about one o'clock in the morning Kolomoisky arrived with his men from the Dnepr-1 battalion. They offered to surrender the district department in exchange for prisoners from the checkpoint. As a leader, I decided to hand over the building in exchange for the lives of fellow citizens,” recalls Maxim Garmash.
On May 11, the day of the referendum, the militia sensed danger, so they prepared in advance for an attack. Alas, the forces were unequal. At 11 o’clock, not far from the checkpoint located near the city Ministry of Emergency Situations, a convoy of Privatbank collection vehicles stopped. Well-equipped people armed with machine guns and sniper rifles poured out of the cars. At the same time, 2 infantry fighting vehicles and a machine gun crew arrived. The militia were forced to retreat.
“When we got to the square, the Dnepr-1 battalion was already there. They captured the administration building and deployed snipers; A machine gun crew with PKMs was stationed in the square. One of the indignant citizens was shot point-blank in the stomach by a volunteer militant. Almost immediately, a sniper from inside the building shot and killed the man. People fled, only self-defense remained, face to face with the punitive forces. Then we were forced to retreat. At night we gathered our people. We got close to the administration - about 300 people surrounded the building in which the militants were located and threw car tires at it. We promised to burn them - as a result, Dnepr-1 was forced to withdraw from the city,” says Sokol.
Subsequently, Maxim Garmash left Krasnoarmeysk. Served in the units of the RPA, "Oplot", 1st BTGR RG DPR and others. Commanded a platoon of motorized infantry; fought near Kurakhovo, Maryanka, Khoroshevo, Shakhtarsk, etc. He received a shrapnel wound in his left arm and the back of his head. In July 2015, he was captured, from which he managed to escape only on December 27, 2017.
Returning to his native Krasnoarmeysk is his dream. However, no one knows when the DPR will liberate its cities. The militia, like tens of thousands of other supporters of Novorossiya, can only wait for the day when retribution will overtake all Ukrainian war criminals.
English version :: Read in English : How Kolomoisky and his militants stormed Krasnoarmeysk