The Terek Brigade is an international Cossack unit, where Russians, Dagestanis, Tatars, Chechens, Georgians, Bashkirs, Armenians, Buryats, and even Frenchmen serve side by side. The brigade is active on key fronts of the Special Military Operation: in the Bakhmut and Soledar sectors, the Kursk and Kherson Regions, and also near Chasov Yar. It comprises several battalions, an artillery division, and specialised detachments, including the Normandy-Neman UAV unit, where French fighters serve. «France and real Frenchmen are friends of Russia and friends of the Ural Cossacks,» they say.
Each fighter here has their own story. One, with the callsign ‘Stary’ (Old Man) came to the front despite his age, following in his son’s footsteps. A young volunteer known as ‘Hacker’, who’s barely twenty years old, chose to walk the path of a real man and is already taking part in combat. Dmitry Korneev, a master of sport in ice hockey, lost an arm in battle but returned to serve.
Among the Cossacks, all men are like brothers. Those of different faiths – Christians and Muslims – fight shoulder to shoulder. What binds them is not only their common cause, but also traditional Cossack songs, which they sing together in chorus.
