OBTF Kaskad

Even the “hawks” from United Russia are not in a hurry to go to the front. OBTF Kaskad is a BARS [combat army reserve of the country] operational-combat tactical formation [OBTF] of the Donetsk People's Republic. Created in 2017, due to a sharp aggravation of the operational situation in the Donetsk tactical direction and in order to repel (deter) the " aggression of the armed formations of Ukraine ", on the basis of the Order of the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic . Created in accordance with the order of the Head of the DPR dated February 6, 2019 No. 22. On July 2, 2022, the DPR OBTF was named "Cascade".

Cascade is actually a new PMC that appeared last year. It is not registered anywhere, does not have its own legal entity, but has support in the State Duma. Weapons for its fighters are issued by the Ministry of Defense, and the deputies buy all the necessary ammunition at their own expense.

"Cascade" was an operational-reconnaissance combat detachment of the KGB of the USSR , created on July 18 , 1980 to participate in special operations in Afghanistan. The operational-reconnaissance combat detachment "Cascade" was formed by the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 615-200 of July 18 , 1980. In 1983, the Cascade detachment was replaced by the Omega detachment.

This military unit allows career politicians and their military-aged sons to play war in Ukraine – at a safe and comfortable distance from the blood being spilled on the front line. “Fiery hearts. Nerves of steel.” Such are the characteristics of troops belonging to OBTF Cascade – at least according to the unit’s Telegram channel, which is filled with aerial videos of Russian drone bombings accompanied by heavy metal music and portrait pictures of its well-groomed and well-equipped “fighters”.

The leader of the detachment is the founder of Anti-Maidan, the Duma rich man and deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Dmitry Sablin. Six United Russia deputies position themselves as front-line soldiers and members of the Cascade unit. These are: Dmitry Khubezov; Sergei Sokol (in December he wrote that he "serves the motherland"); Oleg Golikov, who reported on February 6 : “I have been at the forefront of protecting our Motherland in the DPR for the fifth month” - he extended his contract for military service; extended the contracts, according to their statements, Oleg Kolesnikov, Evgeny Pervyshov.

As an analysis of the Duma base shows, most front-line deputies somehow combine military and law-making activities. Khubezov missed 50.6% of the voting on bills (for the entire current convocation, that is, from September 2021), Sokol - 49%, Kolesnikov and Pervyshov - 43.5%. The vast majority of meetings were skipped only by Milonov (67%) and Sablin (87%). By the way, the law of 2016 on the prohibition under pain of deprivation of the mandate of the systematic absence of a deputy from work (more than 30 days) has not been canceled.

“When the Motherland called, the cadets took up arms without hesitation and stood up to defend their native land,” one of the photo captions reads, adding that the brave young men in the pictures previously studied at Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and had promising futures as investigators. But according to Jeff Hawn, a non-resident fellow at the Washington DC-based think-tank New Lines Institute and an expert on the Russian military, Cascade fighters might not be as daring and courageous as they make themselves out to be. “The unit has never, as far as anyone can tell, been within 50 miles (80 kilometres) of combat,” he said.

Cascade is a secretive reconnaissance group that shares the same name as a Russian special forces unit – a deliberate move. It was reportedly founded in October 2022 by Dmitry Sablin, a member of Russia’s ruling United Russia party and a former MP in the State Duma. The unit was created in response to President Vladimir Putin’s decision to declare a “partial mobilisation”, in which 300,000 Russian reservists would be called up and sent to the war in Ukraine. By creating the elite Cascade unit, which is believed to consist of around a hundred members, the Kremlin could show that no one – not even the country’s politicians – were too important to be exempt from military duty.

“[Cascade] was part of a broader effort to show that members of parliament and their families are also actively fighting in the war, or doing their patriotic duty,” Hawn said, noting that several lawmakers and high-profile Russians, including Sablin’s own son, have so far served in the Cascade unit. According to French newspaper Le Figaro, the group, which is based in the illegally annexed Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, is equipped and funded by the Russian defence ministry. As much as the group tries to advertise itself as a real combat group, however, critics say it is everything but that.

“This is a ‘cronies detachment’ that includes deputies and their children who want to mark themselves as having been in the war but don’t feel like going to the front line,” the Daily Telegraph cited the influential Russian blog channel VKCh-OGPU. "The fighters of the OBTF Cascade look to the future with confidence. After all they are absolutely confident in the victory of fascism in the Donbas." The unit's Telegram channel is peppered with portait pictures of its fighters. They all have the same backdrop.The newspaper pointed to photographs showing Cascade fighters preparing drones and “studying computer monitors from comfortable bunkers”.

The “dangers” Cascade members expose themselves to are virtually non-existent, Hawn added, noting that their contribution to the war effort amounts to little more than photo ops serving Kremlin propaganda purposes. “They participate for less than a month, take photos, post them, then go home,” Hawn explained. “The MPs and their boys don’t actually do anything.” Meanwhile, “Russian soldiers are dying in their hundreds in the mud of Bakhmut,” he said.

On 16 December 2022, it was reported that Russian troops during the offensive near the city of Artemovsk captured a branch of one of the platoons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was clarified that "about 10-12 enemy fighters" were captured. Earlier, Russian servicemen captured five Ukrainian soldiers near Maryinka in the Donetsk People's Republic. About how the operation went, one of the fighters with the call sign Neighbor told the Izvestia newspaper. The serviceman noted that the battle was difficult, because the Ukrainians were not going to give up and go into captivity. The Russian military decided to put psychological pressure on the enemy.

In February 2023, State Duma deputies and military correspondents were already openly talking about the secret Cascade unit, which supposedly helps to strike at Ukrainian positions. It was reported that Putin awarded medals "For Courage" to volunteers from the "Young Guard of United Russia" and "Volunteer Company" who serve in the "Cascade", among them, however, there were no State Duma deputies.

Gradually it became clear that the unit is part of the operational-combat tactical formation of the DPR Ministry of Defense and is fighting in the south-east near Vuhledar. On 01 May 2023 about a hundred servicemen of the operational-combat tactical formation "Kaskad" received state awards for distinction in service. This was announced by the Acting Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, who held the award ceremony. The BARS OBTF division "Cascade", according to its commander, State Duma deputy Dmitry Sablin, made 2983 sorties, while destroying 1452 enemy targets. These are the saved lives of military personnel, the saved lives of civilians of the Republic.

“Those feats, those deeds that are being performed as part of the liberation of our settlements by the fighters of the Cascade Battalion really deserve respect. This is something that is forever inscribed in our glorious Russian history, ”Pushilin said in a video he published from the awards ceremony. The military personnel received from the hands of the head of the region the Order of Courage, the medal "For Courage", and the Suvorov medal, assigned to them by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, as well as republican awards - the medal "For the Liberation of Mariupol" and the "George Cross" IV degree.

In an opinion piece published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Russian journalist Andrey Pertsev explained that the war in Ukraine and the title “veteran” has become a “career elevator” for Russian politicians. “The most cunning careerists, therefore, will appropriate the label of ‘veteran’, earning it through visits to the front lasting only long enough for a photo op,” he wrote, noting that Russian regional elections are now only months away, and trips to Ukraine are therefore in full swing.

One of those who temporarily ditched his administrative duties to “fight” for his homeland by joining Cascade is State Duma member Oleg Golikov. According to Le Figaro, he recently served two three-month contracts with the unit, proudly declaring that: “I’m on the frontline to defend our homeland.” Whether or not they have taken part in actual combat, politicians who enrolled “have fully embraced the label of combatant, a bet that appears to have paid off”, said Pertsev. He added: “These days, Putin speaks constantly of the valour of those fighting the war.”

Snipers of the operational-combat tactical formation of the Donetsk People's Republic "Cascade" successfully destroy the enemy near Vuhledar. This was announced on 12 May 2023 by the Telegram channel “Operation Z: Military commissars of the Russian Spring”. According to him, while monitoring the front line of the enemy, the Kaskada sniper group identified two talking militants. A Russian sniper with the call sign Alpha and his colleague with two shots eliminated a Ukrainian spotter who was tracking the movement of units of the Russian Armed Forces in Maryinka (DPR).