Families of mercenaries eliminated in the Russian-Ukrainina war (in Russia called "SVO"- special military operation) have been unable to receive benefits from the Ministry of Defense or Russia.
Part 1
On September 30, 2022, Russia signed an agreement on the accession of the DPR, LPR, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia regions. The servicemen of the DPR volunteer formation "Veterans" who died five days before this event on the territory of Ukraine - the state structures of Russia refused to recognize them as servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Forever with Russia
According to officially published information (https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/203816-8/ ), on September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the DPR (Donetsk People's republic), LPR (Lugansk People's republic), Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions of Ukraine signed international treaties on the accession of these regions to Russia. On October 2, 2022, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized the documents as consistent with the constitution.
On the 21st of February, 2022 Russia recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. 24.02.2022 so-called President of Russia Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine in response to a request for assistance from Donbass. Referendums in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, in the "liberated" (occupied by Russia) territories of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, were held from September 23 to 27, 2022 inclusive. "The borders of the republics and regions will be determined by the borders that existed on the day of their formation and admission to the Russian Federation. Borders adjacent to the territory of a foreign state will be the state border of the Russian Federation." At the same time, the DPR and LPR are part of the Russian Federation within the 2014 borders established in their constitutions. According to the agreements, residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions are recognized as Russian citizens from the day these regions are admitted to Russia - September 30, 2022 (http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202210030001?index=2)
Call sign "Hunt"
Vasiliy Shtylun was born in 1985 in the Cherkasy region of the Ukrainian SSR. Until 2022, Vasiliy lived in Goryachy Klyuch, Krasnodar Krai, Russian Federation.
Vasiliy's large family consists of his wife, six-year-old Varvara, fifteen-year-old Danila, older brother, mother-in-law Svetlana and father-in-law Sergey. Vasiliy also actively communicated with his uncles. Vasiliy's father, with whom he did not maintain contact, lives in Ukraine.
Near Goryachy Klyuch there is a combined arms training ground, which in recent years has been used to accommodate and train the so-called Wagner PMC. The private military company "Wagner" was created and is controlled by the GRU - Main Intelligence Directorate (now simply the Main Directorate) of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (ГУ ГШ МО РФ). The founders of "Wagner" (they also call themselves "orchestra", "musicians") are known as Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin (his call sign was "Wagner"). Due to the peculiarities of such a location of Goryachy Klyuch, Vasiliy had "business trips" to Syria, Libya and other African countries for several years before 2022. The business trips were related to the activities of the PMC Wagner, located in the village of Molkin, 20 km from Goryachy Klyuch. One of Vasily's hobbies, as well as his whole family's, was hunting, so he chose a corresponding call sign for himself - "Hunt".
It should be noted that Vasily's father-in-law, Sergei Finko, once worked as a huntsman in the forestry in the mountains near Goryachiy Klyuch and often talked about his meetings and get-togethers over a glass of vodka with famous people, for example, with State Duma deputy Andrey Lugovoi (who, according to the British authorities, was involved in the murder of Litvinenko with polonium). Many residents of Goryachy Klyuch were and are still involved in Wagner's activities, especially Vasily's neighbors (for example, his neighbor across the street, Andrey, his neighbor on the side, Alexander, and many other neighbors from the same street).
After the start of the so-called Special Military Operation (SVO) in the spring of 2022, Vasily "enlisted" in the ranks of one of the units of the Airborne Troops of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Odintsovo, Moscow Region, and served in this unit on the territory of Ukraine. But, according to Vasily's wife Victoria, the conditions of service did not suit him (very low salary, about 80 000 rubles, about 1K USD), so after completing his six month contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and a short rest, he chose the opportunity to continue participating in the SVO in the ranks of the mercinary formation "Veterans".
The wife of "Hunting", Victoria, says: "It so happened that Artur, the commander of another reconnaissance group, with whom Vasya was a comrade, suffered a concussion and was sent to Rostov for treatment. And somewhere probably in the 20s... at the end of September [2022]... I don't know exactly when, in general, someone called Artur from Ukraine and said that the group in which Vasya was a commander, about 30 people, was destroyed and Vasya died.... On social networks, a nurse from the hospital posted a message at Artur's request that Vasya's relatives were being sought and they contacted Vasya's older brother, who lives in Novy Urengoy.... The older brother thought it was some kind of ridiculous joke, but he called me and we contacted this nurse from the hospital in Rostov and then Artur, Vasya's comrade. But it was already September 30, 2022, and no one from these “Veterans” called me either before or after September 30, 2022.”
"VETERANS OF RUSSIA" - the successor of the All-Russian political party "PARTY OF VETERANS OF RUSSIA"
All-Russian public movement "Veterans of Russia" is recruiting for the volunteer unit "Veterans".
On the official page of the All-Russian public movement https://veteransrussian.ru/novosti/novosti-ood/kak-popast-v-dobrovolcheskoe-podrazdelenie-60-omsb-veterany-12/ an announcement was posted: All-Russian public movement "VETERANS OF RUSSIA" - the successor of the All-Russian political party "PARTY OF VETERANS OF RUSSIA"
All-Russian public movement "Veterans of Russia" is recruiting for the volunteer unit "Veterans".
On the official page of the All-Russian public movement /https://veteransrussian.ru/novosti/novosti-ood/kak-popast-v-dobrovolcheskoe-podrazdelenie-60-omsb-veterany-12/ an announcement was posted: «A motivated, adult team of real professionals in their field, with extensive combat experience. The absence of army idiocy, drill, canticles, bureaucracy and other things. Constant real combat training, coordination, shooting, training events, the opportunity to obtain new specialties. The monthly salary for a fighter position is 240 thousand rubles (about 2,4K USD on January 2025) per month and higher for senior positions[...] Bonuses for successful completion of tasks that have no upper limit. All payments are guaranteed. Full financial support, free meals and accommodation at the stage of employment and after. Guaranteed compensation provided by the state is provided in accordance with the Federal Law of 21.11.2022 No. 450-FZ, in case of injury (compensation for treatment, all expenses in the future are borne by the volunteer unit if full recovery is impossible[...] the employee will not be abandoned to his fate and will not be left without help and means to support his family. Compensation to the family in the event of the death of a volunteer is paid by the State in full, as with career military personnel of the RF Armed Forces"
After the death of Vasily's reconnaissance group became known, his wife began searching for his colleagues, as well as contacts of the leadership of the 60th separate motorized rifle battalion "Veterans" through social networks. After some time, in October-November 2022, it was possible to find contacts of the wife of Vasily's subordinate in the company - Yulia Sergeevna Pryanichnikova and the mother of another colleague of Vasily, Dmitry - Tatyana Aleksandrovna Uchevataya. It was also possible to find out that there is a certain Elena, who deals with financial issues in the 60th separate motorized rifle battalion "Veterans", and there is also Sergei Sergeevich, who is in Rostov-on-Don - engaged in the search for the bodies of the dead.
One of the problems that the family of Vasily faced was that without a body, the battalion did not make payments in connection with the death of a serviceman. Regular wage payments were not made either, and it was unclear to the family of the deceased how they would literally survive until the body was found. The family had hope that since the body was not found, there was a possibility that a miracle could have happened and "Hunt" survived and was captured. In "Veterans", the political officer with the call sign "Skif" said that "no body - no payments", no wages, no anything else. Vasily's family has been contacting all possible authorities since the beginning of October 2022. For example, they called the "hotline" of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, where they were told that in the area of the settlement {name excluded} in the Kharkov region of Ukraine, where the reconnaissance group was eliminated, such battles were being fought that "sending the living to pull out the dead" is not possible, no one will take on such a decision. The only thing the family could do was go to church and pray for the "Hunt" to return in any form, alive or dead.
Contact was established through social networks with a certain Sergei Sergeevich from Rostov-on-Don [position and organizational affiliation - unknown]. He is engaged in the search for the bodies of the deceased, who are not employees of the Russian Ministry of Defense. He also helped with the selection of biological material from relatives in November 2022 for the genetic examination of the remains of the bodies found. Relatives of the eliminated also send photographs and detailed descriptions of tattoos and scars on the bodies of their loved ones to Rostov, as this makes it easier to find the bodies.
About a month after Vasily's family submitted the genetic material, on December 19, 2022, Vasily's wife called and immediately realized: "We found it." Vasily Shtylun's body was the first of three people from his reconnaissance group to die that day. Vasily's wife's first impulse was to go to Rostov immediately. But Sergei Sergeevich asked to wait a day and on December 20th, having hired a lorry at their own expense, Vasily's family left Goryachy Klyuch for Rostov-on-Don. There, on the spot, they met with Maxim, who represented the Redut PMC, one of whose divisions is Veterans.
PMC "Redut" is located in the city of Kubinka in the Moscow region and is adjacent to the territory of the 45th Special Forces Brigade of the Airborne Forces.
Before the war, Redut was engaged in the protection and defense of the facilities of State-owned JSC Stroytransgaz in Syria. Potential mercenaries are told that this is a construction company registered in Rostov-on-Don, which has nothing to do with military operations, and the employer is called by the abbreviation "RLSPI" (Russian "РЛСПИ"). The abbreviation RLSPI may hide the name "Regional Laboratory of Social and Psychological Research", which operates under the Ministry of Defense of Russia and is located in Rostov-on-Don. The military unit number is 35555. This unit belongs to the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. According to recruitment ads for the Redut PMC, a minor injury is valued at five thousand dollars, a serious injury at 25 thousand, and death at 60 thousand. The salary and bonus amounts are specified in a separate agreement, depending on the employee's "qualifications." The "Don" unit is also associated with Redut. It is a joint Cossack brigade in which volunteers fight. Its soldiers were paid through Redut. Currently, the Cossack brigade is listed in the reservist system of the "Country's Combat Army Reserve" (BARS, Russian "Боевого армейского резерва страны, БАРС") and is legally linked to the Ministry of Defense. Like all Redut's mercenaries from special forces are not part of the BARS system. They fight but are not listed with the Ministry of Defense. Legally, they are not soldiers. Many BARS units train at the Kadamovsky training ground in the Rostov Region. The BARS system has taken almost all the volunteers, and it legally includes the military of the "Union of Donbass Volunteers", regional named battalions, and "Don". The military IDs of BARS soldiers often do not contain any marks about participation in the war. They are not treated in regional hospitals, since legally they are not considered military personnel. BARS soldiers do not know the terms of their contracts - a copy of the document is not issued. Employees of the military unit promise that they will be able to receive a second copy of the contract only after its expiration at the military registration and enlistment office of their city. However, the regions' military registration and enlistment offices do not even know where to send requests: they do not have unit numbers or other data.
Together with a representative of "Redut" from a frightening and very large distribution center (morgue) where bodies are identified not only by DNA but also visually, by tattoos and scars, Vasily's body was given to his closest relatives. Vasily's body and the rest of the fighters arrived at this distribution center in a bag marked "October 2022" as a result of an exchange with the opposite side. Together with the body, they gave a temporary death certificate, and permission to transport the body by their own transport. On December 23, 2022, the burial took place in Goryachiy Klyuch.
After the burial, representatives of the "Veterans" began to "harass" Vasily Shtylun's wife with calls and demands to provide a document confirming the fact of Vasily's death (permanent death certificate). To the reasonable question: "Will it not turn out that the "Veterans" will receive the document, but will not pay me "funeral" money?" - the representative of this battalion Elena assured Victoria, that this would not happen and said that if anything - "You can sue us" [as of December 2022, the Shtylun family, except for the temporary and permanent death certificate, did not have any documentary evidence of Vasily's service in the "Veterans"].
For reference: during the time when the fighters were considered missing in action /from September 26, 2022 to December 20, 2022/ — the fighters’ salaries were not accrued or paid, since such payments are not provided for by the terms of the contract.
"The combat veteran's certificate was issued ONLY because Vasily Shtylun managed to serve in the Airborne Forces for a few months under a contract from the military unit in Odintsovo," said Vasily's wife. These documents were issued in January-February 2023. At the same time, Vasily Shtylun's relatives kept reminding the "Veterans" employee Elena that Vasily's family was expecting "post-mortal" payments (Russian "Гробовые"). But they kept receiving the answer from her that "there is no money yet." In early February 2023, Elena called Victoria, Vasily's wife to Rostov to receive 5 million rubles [US$ 70,900 as of early February 2023] in cash, for which it was necessary to write a receipt for the receipt. After this amount was paid, Vasily Shtylun's family was told that "Veterans" did not owe Vasily's family anything more. “No documents were provided about where Vasily served from August to September 2022 - at the time of the payment of the “funeral money” from the “Veterans”,” Vasily’s relatives say.
"I have certain circumstances, a mortgage, children. During the search for my husband's body, I told the representatives of "Veterans" about my difficulties and they provided me with a one-time financial assistance - they paid forty thousand rubles (about 500 USD at that time) and transferred the salary for September 2022. They also paid for some expenses related to the burial of the body, for example - transporting the body from Rostov to Goryachiy Klyuch, but for example, we paid for the purchase of a zinc coffin for thirty-seven thousand rubles ourselves. And "Veterans" asked us for expense documents for the amounts spent in connection with the burial," Vasily's relative notes one of the positive aspects. "The battalion commander partially compensated me for the costs of transportation and burial, but asked me to buy and put a beautiful wreath from "Veterans" on the grave, which I did. But," she continues, "this is for Vasily, who was an entire reconnaissance company commander, I know that "Mole's" {another solder under Vasily comand} wife was not compensated for the costs," Vasily's wife notes as one of the positive aspects.
End of the first part