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MOSCOW, Aug 24
MOSCOW, Aug 24
strong> At a meeting in the Kremlin with servicemen of the 127th Motorized Rifle Division of the 5th Combined Arms Army, President Vladimir Putin asked the crew of the Alyosha tank about the details of their exploits on the battlefield.
““If we return to the occasion for which we gathered yesterday and today, I already congratulated you on state awards, absolutely deserved. Strange as it may seem, it is still unclear to us how the battle something was going on with you,» the head of state said.
Lieutenant Alexander Levakov told the president that the servicemen had received an order to quickly advance to the combat area and clear the area.
«So you didn't know what awaits you there?» Putin clarified.
August 6, 15:38
The officer replied to the head of state that they were put «on the toughest sites», because they knew how the unit works.
In addition, Putin asked senior lieutenant Rasim Baksikov why he, commanding several tanks, periodically sits down at the control levers in the driver's seat, occupying a fairly ordinary position.
As the officer noted, answering the president's question, he considers it necessary to show his subordinates that even if it's scary, you need to fight this fear and do your job.
in the best traditions of Russian officers,» Putin said.
In addition, one of the meeting participants told the head of state that the tank driver was injured and now he needs treatment due to a crack in the temporal part of his head. The fighter also failed to receive the award and is still in the war zone.
«We'll do that, of course, it's good that you said. <…> Alexander Sergeevich, don't worry, we'll do everything in the best possible way. You don't forget about him and no one will, there's no doubt about it,» he said. Putin.
One of the meeting participants also told the head of state that his grandfather had taken part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge during the Great Patriotic War.
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“This is the link between generations, this is our genetic code for the defense of the Fatherland,” the head of state noted.
The day before, Putin presented the participants of the special operation, including the crew of the Alyosha tank, with state awards, including the Gold Star medal of the Hero of Russia. The ceremony was held in the Ponyri village of the Kursk region as part of a solemn event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk.
The crew of the Alyosha tank, which stopped the Ukrainian armored group in the Zaporozhye direction in June, destroyed eight units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in battle. After the defeat of the last enemy combat vehicle, the tank crew continued to cover the motorized rifle units deploying in battle formations for about 40 minutes.
When the ammunition supply ran out, the crew commander Rasim Baksikov decided to go to reload, and another tank was sent to the battlefield. But almost immediately this machine was damaged by enemy artillery. Then the Alyosha crew decided to evacuate the wrecked tank. The soldiers towed the second car under the incessant shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and rescued the servicemen in it.
In total, during the battle with Alyosha, the enemy’s losses, in addition to destroyed equipment, amounted to more than a hundred military killed and wounded.