Ukraine, located in Eastern Europe, is the largest country in Europe after Russia. It became independent in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Because of its fertile soil, Ukraine, as the world's third largest grain exporter, has the reputation of "Europe's granary". At the same time, Kiev in Ukraine ranked first among the top ten "beauty cities" in the world selected by the world-renowned travel magazine "Traveler's Digest".
Good food and beautiful women.
Overall, this is a beautiful place.
However, the smoke cast a shadow over this beauty.
The root of the problem has been laid since the hasty changes in 1991.
On January 9, 2014, a riot in the name of "people's cooking" brought the country into turmoil.
On the evening of March 29, 2014, Crimea set its time forward two hours and officially switched to Moscow time.
Like a flag, eastern cities followed suit, with Donetsk and Luhansk declaring independence, officially igniting the flames of civil war.
... ...
"Strictly speaking, I am a Belarusian, but I spent my childhood in Ukraine. My father was a Soviet soldier and met my mother in Kip." Nick held a cigarette in his mouth and held the steering wheel.
Early this morning, Jiang Chen left the Premier Palace Hotel and took a taxi to the place where he and Nick agreed to meet. The pickup truck was bought from a local second-hand car market, and the two were driving on the highway to Donetsk.
"In other words, you were once a member of the government army?" Jiang Chen asked casually.
"That's right. It used to be." Nick grinned, "But the establishment has been wiped out. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is a deserter."
"Are the government forces' combat effectiveness weak?"
"Very weak." Nick blew out a smoke ring. He glanced out the window with a complicated look at the truck passing by, which was filled with wounded soldiers brought back from the front line.
"The combat effectiveness of the soldiers varies greatly, and the senior officials are *to their core*. More importantly, no one is willing to fight for this country."
Western Ukraine used to be the border between the Soviet Union (CP) and NATO (NATO). The arms warehouses contain millions of tons of artillery shells, landmines, bullets and other arms left over from the three military districts of the former Soviet Union. To this day, the Ukrainian army still uses these free ammunition depots. It is precisely because of this that Ukraine's national arms industry has declined to a terrible level. The Ukrainian Army’s “Phoenix” Homeland Defense Battalion. Even the 122mm howitzer that has been firing salutes over Kiev for decades was brought to the battlefield, and the bank's cash transport truck was used as an armored vehicle.
At the same time, the shortage of military expenditure also made soldiers unwilling to fight at all. The salary of a company commander is only equivalent to the monthly salary of a soldier in Kazakhstan, Central Asia. The equivalent of RMB is only more than 1,500 yuan, which is not as much as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant.
The salary level is difficult to live on, and the training level is low. It has become a trend to sell weapons and equipment privately to support the family. Very ironic. When a large amount of equipment on the front line is damaged and there is no new equipment to replace it, ordinary people can buy an armored vehicle for $10,000.
This is the current situation of the Ukrainian army.
On the other hand, civilian armed forces. Well-equipped and high-morale. Possessing powerful firepower and armor. This war has been going on for nearly a year, and there has never been a shortage of ammunition for the civilian armed forces, and the Ukrainian army, which often uses well-planned large-scale and intensive artillery attacks, is overwhelmed. It is said that the 36,000 civilian armed forces contain 8,000 Russian advanced heavy weapons. At the same time, according to US satellite photography, artillery positions deployed on the Russian-Ukrainian border are opening fire at any time to provide support to the civilian armed forces.
"If everyone was fighting for this country, I wouldn't be here." Jiang Chen shrugged. Then he said, "At least, let those who are capable fight for forces worthy of their loyalty."
If weapons and equipment can be purchased, I believe "buying people" will not be difficult. Although in principle, it is impossible for a country's serving soldiers to be sold to others as mercenaries, but that is a principle after all, isn't it? Even tanks can be sold, what else can’t be sold
Incidentally. The reason why Jiang Chen didn't buy a tank was partly because the tanks in the future would not burn oil. Rather, it is a large fuel rod similar to that of power armor, and a high-energy battery used by some maglev tanks.
On the other hand, the current armor is "too thin" and the material grade is not at the same level. It is no exaggeration to say that the Assault infantry vehicle at the Fishbone Base is even comparable to the German Leopard 2a6 main battle tank in terms of armor strength alone. Of course, the impact of armor inclination on shell penetration is not discussed here.
"Loyalty? Haha. Nothing is worth it, and no one wants to fight. But the commission you gave is really attractive, and the ten-year working period is not too harsh. At least I will work hard for you, and I can still get the money after I retire. Go to Europe to retire." Nick smiled.
One million US dollars is enough for them to live happily for a lifetime.
The pickup truck was driving smoothly on the highway, with thick black smoke faintly visible in the distance. This place is very close to the front line, but this area is still relatively safe.
But at this moment, the car in front stopped.
"Traffic jam?"
Nick frowned and stopped the car. He reached out to take off the cigarette butt and put it out in the ashtray. He got out of the car and walked towards the car in front of him.
"What happened ahead?"
"I don't know. The car in front of me stopped, so I had to stop with it." A Slavic guy got out of the car in front of me, and he had the same helpless expression on his face.
The cars behind them honked their horns as if to vent their anger, and people who didn't know the truth got out of the cars one after another, stretching their necks and looking forward.
"Okay, guys, don't panic. Please go back to the car and sit down. Our special forces are dealing with this little trouble. Please stay calm." A soldier wearing green camouflage came from the front and took pictures one by one. He patted the roof of the car to signal people to stay calm.
"I want to know what happened in front of me?" A fat driver stuck his head out of the window and shouted dissatisfied.
"A shell made a hole in the middle of the road. It was just a dud. To make sure it doesn't bloom when you pass by, our people are dismantling it." The soldier shrugged and put his hand on the roof of the car. Lean on.
Honestly. Seeing him look so relaxed was really reassuring.
"He was being lazy and stayed in a safe place after completing the report. I have done this a few times." Nick scolded with a smile. Looking at that young face, he always felt like he saw the original version of himself.
Glancing at Nick in surprise, Jiang Chen thought he was one of those meticulous people.
Because it's not worth fighting for
After thinking about it for a while, Jiang Chen understood instantly.
"Is this kind of dumb bomb very common on the front line?" Jiang Chen looked at the soldier who was deserting. asked Nick casually.
"A lot." Nick, who sat back in the car, grinned and passed the time and lit one again. "Both sides are squandering arms from the former Soviet Union, but these things have long passed their shelf life. Take the "Dot-U" tactical missile with a guaranteed life of only ten years. Without the launch vehicle, you can't even I don’t know where it went.”
The soldier not far away was leaning against a car. He smiled and chatted with the driver in the car, and even took the cigarette from the driver.
Jiang Chen's brows twitched. He was very worried about the Ukrainian army's combat effectiveness. If it's such a bad thing, he won't even give it to him for free.
As if he saw Jiang Chen's concerns, Nick smiled and said.
"I guess he's a new recruit. Maybe he was just an electrician yesterday, but today he was given a gun and went to the front line to stand guard. It's normal that the identity can't be changed. Here, everything is possible."
"What about the recruit training?" Jiang Chen asked with a strange expression.
"There is no money. No one is willing to get it. The Makanov we are looking for this time is a good man and will not fool you with such nonsense. The Ukrainian army still has good players who can fight, just the one I used to have The army. Although six out of ten are new recruits, the remaining four are all good guys. Especially that old Cossack, his marksmanship is simply amazing."
Jiang Chen fell into a brief silence, but thought of another problem.
"In this case, would he be willing to use the good soldiers in the army?"
"Why not?" Nick shrugged. "The war cannot be controlled by one or two veterans. Besides, you paid enough."
For that Makanov. The bribe given by Jiang Chen was also 1 million US dollars, paid in gold. All he needs to do is to pick a good person, sign a few signatures, and issue a few certificates of missing in action.
At this moment, there was a deafening explosion in the distance.
Thick smoke rose. Looking at the mess in the distance, many people cursed in fright and anger. Some people also took out their mobile phones and started taking photos and videos.
The soldier was obviously shocked by the explosion and stared blankly towards the front of the highway.
After a long time, the soldier looked at the Ukrainian driver who was chatting with him just now.
"Maybe... uh, maybe our guys successfully detonated the dud?"
The car in front moved slowly.
The danger has been lifted. No matter what, a bomb cannot explode twice.
Seeing this, Nick also started the car. Fortunately, there were not many vehicles on the road, so there was no large-scale congestion.
However, when passing by the ferocious crater, Jiang Chen faintly caught a glimpse of the bloody remains.
"It seems that the special forces' method of detonating dumb bombs is quite special."
Hearing this, Nick grinned, his language slightly sarcastic, "Special Forces? The only force worthy of this title has defected to Russia."
Just as the two of them were chatting and passing the time, a white van was hanging slowly behind them.
The dark glass blocked the scenery inside the car. If Jiang Chen saw the person sitting on the passenger seat, he would definitely show a surprised expression.
This blonde, blue-eyed and tall beauty was the Ukrainian girl who struck up a conversation with him yesterday afternoon. The only difference was that the alluring long open skirt turned into a black canvas coat that was convenient for fighting.
"This is the Silver Fox, the target has entered Donetsk Oblast."
"Roger, this is the Vulture. Continue with Plan B."
"clear."
Those bright red lips outlined a charming smile. ()