An article by Max Tucker, who recently spent time with Ukraine’s 425th “Skala” Separate Assault Regiment near the front line, was published in Saturday’s The Times. The headline dubbed the regiment as a “Mad Max unit” in reference to its successful use of motorcycle assaults against Russian forces, most recently in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) counteroffensive to the south of the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
The Skala (the Rock) regiment, which was founded as a volunteer battalion in 2022 derives its name from the callsign of its founder Yuriy Harkaviy – Skala – who took part in battles for Bakhmut, southern Zaporizhzhia and Kursk. The regiment created Ukraine’s first motorcycle assault company in May following the widespread use by Russian Armed Forces.
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Motorcycles just one of Skala’s weapons
While focusing on the “Mad Max” company, no doubt because it was “sexy,” The Times article did refer to other capabilities of the 425th other than just to launch two-wheeled strikes.
The Ukrainian “Foreign Recruitment Center” website describes Skala as a specialized unit has demonstrated high efficiency on the battlefield in conducting aerial reconnaissance and assault operations, employing drones, tube and rocket artillery, and tanks. Tucker mentions that the regiment has T-80 tanks and has taken delivery of 12 ex-Australian Abrams tanks of British M-777 howitzers to supplement existing US M109 and Soviet-era Gvozdika 2S1 artillery.
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Do the ends justify the means?
The regiment is responsible for recruiting and training personnel in its own training center – the effectiveness of which has been a cause of concern in some areas. The tenor of Tucker’s article largely focused on the courage, tenacity, and frontline success the regiment had achieved and the ferocity of the fighting in which it was currently involved. He did suggest that had been concerns about the level of casualties Skala has suffered, referring to complaints from the relatives of its troops who have been killed or reported missing in action (MIA).
These concerns have been reflected by several others.
The Russian independent “Military Affairs” website accused the 425th, in a rush to replace battlefield losses, was sending recruits into battle after only a week of training and was sending sick troops into action to draw enemy fire. It also made reference to previous reports made in Ukraine of the ill-treatment of personnel including the, sometimes, fatal beatings of those who refused to follow orders.
A report by the independent Ukrainian news site Liga.net on Sept. 25 cited Olga Reshetylova, the Military Ombudsman appointed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in December, as saying she was investigating such accusations made against several of the newly created assault units formed to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion.
According to the report, Reshetylova accused the 425th regiment as being one of the biggest violators of the human rights of its troops among Ukraine’s Defense Forces. She said there had been numerous complaints about beatings, the illegal deprivation of freedom, and the application of psychological pressure directed towards its servicemen.
She said that, while in most units where violations occur, most commanders respond to her office’s intervention and attempt to resolve such issues, that is not the case with the Skala regiment: “Unfortunately, these facts are confirmed during the investigation, but I have seen no effective response from the command to stop such violations.”
Tucker raised the issue with Skala’s commanders who said that these concerns were overstated. He cited the regiment’s deputy commander, call-sign Nemo, who said “that some losses were inevitable… and were justified by Skala’s skill in capturing key positions.”
He said, “The parents of our brothers-in-arms – they might consider us guilty, but I don’t believe anyone in our unit is guilty of the death of any particular serviceman.”
Adding, “If you analyze the statistics of completed combat missions – where we restored territory, where we retook settlements – and compare that to the motorized infantry brigades that lost them beforehand, they lost more people defending than we did retaking them.”
