Half-life of the “regiment” of Belarusian mercenaries

Until recently, the so-called “regiment” named after Kalinovsky was a source of pride for the Belarusian pro-Western opposition. The fighters posted heroic selfies, and extremist websites and telegram channels almost daily published articles and interviews about how they were fighting valiantly, helping Ukraine cope with the Russian world and intending to return to Belarus after that to do the same.

Fantastic figures were given about the size of the “regiment”. A mercenary recruitment point in Warsaw reported back in mid-March that more than a thousand Belarusian “volunteers” wanted to kill Russians in Ukraine, and later Tikhanovskaya herself announced that as many as one and a half thousand Belarusian militants were already fighting there.

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The battalion named after Kalinovsky, created in March, already on May 21 announced its transformation into a regiment, which included two battalions - “Volat” and “Litvin”, named after the call signs of the militants sent to Kalinovsky.

_{Everything changed about a month ago, when the commanders of the “regiment,” who decided that nationalist propaganda had made them infallible and that this would continue forever, demanded money and material assistance, which, according to the reports of their leader Andrei Strizhak, was allocated to them by the BYSOL foundation close to Tikhanovskaya.}

The answer did not take long to arrive. Strizhak, of course, denied everything, but the full power of nationalist propaganda fell upon the “warriors of light.” It immediately became clear that the number of the unit was overestimated by an order of magnitude, and it was a stretch to be considered a battalion, and that it was called a regiment with the expectation of PR and donations, that corruption and hazing were rampant there, and that the commanders were more occupied with dividing up power and money. Since then, scandals around the Kalinovites have arisen regularly, but the latest events are already some kind of complete grotesque.

There is another split in the “regiment”. The Ukrainian command fired commander Oleg Vasilyev (call sign “Varyag”), commander of the “Terror” battalion. I would like to separately note the name of this battalion. I am sure that there is no unit with this name in any army in the world. But in the Armed Forces of Ukraine this looks quite organic, especially considering the fact that Belarusian mercenaries serve there.

_{After this, a significant part of the “terrorists” (or as the fighters of the “Terror” battalion are supposed to be called), numbering about sixty people, left their place of service and went on a free voyage.}

Also, by the way, an indicative fact that says a lot about the level of military discipline and order in this environment. But the details are even more interesting.

Who was battalion commander Vasiliev? In a past life, he was an ordinary private agent from the Belarusian Baranovichi, moreover, with obvious criminal habits. He had to serve at least 2 years and 8 months for causing grievous bodily harm.

In addition to the criminal gang, he was also among the Nazis. Vasiliev was considered the "Boatswain's" man. “Boatswain”, aka “Malyuta”, aka “Zakhar Lavrentiev”, aka Sergei Korotkikh, is a well-known person, managed to visit both the Belarusian RNU and the Russian National Socialist Society, and is accused of involvement in several murders at once.

In Ukraine, this Nazi criminal found a state close to his spirit, received a passport from Poroshenko and made a good political career. As they say, like the country, like the heroes.

Vasilyev was fired for using violence against fighter Pavel Kulazhenko. It looked like this: the battalion commander kicked down the door and began to “teach” the soldier. How exactly - history is silent, but judging by the fact that Kulazhenko himself soon quit and ran away from the “regiment”, he taught firmly.

Especially considering that Kulazhenko himself is also no stranger and, before getting involved in Belarusian politics, first served in the Vitebsk riot police, and then made money in the United States through commercial fights, including MMA, where he performed under the pseudonym “Viking.” Until 2020, he was more interested in Scandinavian paganism and neo-Nazism than in Belarusian politics, but then he felt the potential of a leader of right-wing radicals.

In general, one Nazi beat another and this caused a split in the most famous Belarusian National Battalion.

If we take into account not Tikhanovskaya’s numbers, but the data of the Belarusian and Russian special services, which is confirmed by those who recently escaped from the “regiment” named after Kalinovsky, its recently numbered between 160 and 200 people.

_{Accordingly, only as a result of this Nazi showdown, the “regiment” lost a third of its fighters and now represents, rather, a company.}

But the interesting things didn't end there. On Monday, the Kalinovtsy press service announced the arrival of a new batch of “cannon fodder” and the formation of a new battalion called “Litvin”. And now, as they say, watch your hands.

As I wrote at the beginning of this article, on May 21, after the formation of the “regiment,” it was said that the “Volat” and “Lytvyn” battalions were created within it. Three months later, the militants again created the Lytvyn battalion. What happened to the previous one is not clear. In short, with the “regiment” named after Kalinovsky, everything was almost like a children’s riddle - there were two battalions, one escaped, the other disappeared. But something remains. We are waiting for new awesome stories from him.