“I don’t think we will miss the offensive on Kharkiv for the third time”: Konstantin Nemichev

During three years of full-scale war, the Ukrainian military continues to fight for every meter of native land, strengthening defenses and improving strategies.  From the first days of the war, the “Kraken” unit took part in key battles for the Kharkiv Region, Donbas and Zaporizhzhia Region, playing an important role in maintaining defensive lines. Kostyantyn Nemichev is one of the founders of the special unit shared his vision of the situation at the front, recalled the first days of the war in Kharkiv region, and also spoke about fortifications and the possibility of new threats to Kharkiv.

Konstantin Nemichev reminded that “Kraken” was created on February 24, 2022 from veterans of the “Azov” regiment, volunteers and residents of Kharkiv, who immediately stood up to defend the city without summons. From the very beginning of the war, the fighters of the unit took part in important battles in the Kharkiv region, Donbas, as well as in the defense of the Zaporizhzhia region. Nemichev said that as early as 2021, together with his comrades, he began to prepare for a possible invasion, holding schools and lectures for the civilian population. He noted that he understood the inevitability of war, given the training of the Russian army near the borders. Despite the numerous obstacles that were created to prevent training, the Kraken continued to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“If we take the year 2021, when we really started preparing for war, we held trainings and lectures. That is, we started it six months before the start of a full-scale invasion. Because we, as people with military experience, understood what those exercises on our borders would lead to. That’s what they led to. That’s why we thought that we should prepare the civilian population. This is our duty.” – emphasized Nemichev.

Recalling the conflict with Roman Dudin, then head of the Ukrainian Security Service in the Kharkiv region, Nemichev noted:

“It was for half a year. He just started speaking publicly then. And for half a year, that is, they put sticks in the wheels, it is not clear for what reasons. And then in January 2022, I gathered the defense headquarters. We gathered various regional deputies, there were deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, there was an ex-governor, various heads of veteran organizations, there were 70 representatives. At that meeting, I showed three scenarios how the enemy, most likely, will The third scenario was prophetic. There was an escalation in the Donbas, the second scenario was an escalation in the capital and the north. And the third scenario took place on February 24.

At that meeting, we talked about the fact that theses are being thrown into the information space of Kharkiv that Russians are our friends, they are brothers, relatives live. They began to throw it into the information space, Telegram channels picked it up and spread it. And one of our methods of struggle is to show that Kharkiv is Ukraine.

I then decided that a big march should be held. To show the whole world, at that time there were a lot of journalists, European and American, in Kharkiv, and we held a march, gathered 5 to 7 thousand people. There were only flags of Ukraine, we made a big beautiful banner “Kharkiv is Ukraine”. They invited all the journalists and showed the whole world that Kharkiv is Ukraine.

There were a lot of obstacles to prevent us from carrying out this march. On the day of the march, they tried to disrupt it as much as possible. Various organizations that were in this defense headquarters that I created were invited. They were forbidden to march, they actually refused to march. But that’s all history, we’ve been through it all. Roman Volodymyrovych is now in the pre-trial detention center, I don’t know, he is guilty or innocent, it is more obvious to those who see the case materials.

I had a dialogue with him on March 5, 2022, when full-scale war broke out. I will not retell it now. In short, he said it was not his initiative. Therefore, as it is there, what he wanted to do with it, I have no answer, if we take this particular situation.

At that time, we collected 800 people at the school. At the last school, there were 1,000 people. Roman Volodymyrovych spoke at the session of the regional council, at the session of the city council. And for some reason he always said for me, I was some kind of irritant for him. Why he did that, I still don’t have an answer. But, as history shows, we did everything right and did it in such a way that we were actually able to stop and knock out the troops from Kharkiv.”

Speaking about the beginning of the war, Nemichev emphasized that he received the first Kraken weapon on February 22, 2022 after negotiations with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“On February 22, we came to Kyiv and met with a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from Monastyrskyi. We talked and agreed on the first weapon, on the first 150 automatic weapons that will be issued to us if the war starts. We kept our word, and this was the first weapon. Many people know us in Kharkiv, and we communicate with everyone, there are no problems with anyone. That is, we cannot say that there are any structures there…

If we take the first weapon, the police helped us. Then we went to the GUR, the GUR helped with the weapons. Again, there were not enough volunteers. In the first days, if I’m not mistaken, there were already 1,500 people there. In the first hours at the beginning of the war, we had 600 people. And then by the afternoon, when we were already placing people on the Ring Road, in positions for the defense of Kharkiv, we already had fifteen thousand people there, and there were not enough weapons.

We communicated with various structures, we were told where to get the keys and open where to get them. In principle, they found weapons wherever they could. This saved Kharkiv.

The security service did not give us weapons. I know that “Fraykor” issued several tens of units. As I understand it, it was Roman Dudin who betrayed, but I say, it was we who did not cooperate on weapons.” – emphasized Nemichev.

He emphasized that thanks to concerted actions and determination, it was possible to stop the enemy and save the city. He emphasized that now “Kraken” is ready for any challenges and will not allow the attack on Kharkiv to become a surprise for the defenders of the city again.

Kostyantyn Nemichev said that the unit has been working in all directions during the three years of the war. “Kraken” operates in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, as well as in the south, organizing the defense of Zaporizhzhia. According to Nemichev, they cooperate with many brigades, but the most memorable interactions were with the 3rd OSHB, which differed in modern approaches to war.

“This is a modernized brigade that uses technology, non-standard approaches. They are similar to us. We also try to fight with technology, not with people.” Nemichev noted.

On the Kharkiv route, “Kraken” cooperated with “Charter”. They were on the defensive while the Kraken attacked. An important role in the defense of Kharkiv was played by the 92nd brigade, which held the front during the offensive on February 24.

“They held the front, and we were the second line. When the enemy broke through, we smashed their columns, burned the equipment, and shot the infantry,” Nemichev said.

The Kraken also interacted with the 225 Assault Battalion, handing over Ruska Lozova to them after a sweep. However, there was no greater interaction. Regarding their commander Oleg Shiryaev, Nemichev noted:

“There are simply moments that cannot be forgotten. The person worked precisely until 2021 not in our favor, worked for the enemy and did the most destabilizing actions. That is why my attitude is what it was.”

He believes that “the Russians are afraid of the Kraken”:

“When they find out that we are opposite, they try to break the positions. We often hear from the prisoners that they are sure: if the Kraken is standing opposite, they will not survive. However, we always treat the prisoners humanely.

The Russian authorities initiated a criminal case against me, accusing me of fictitious crimes. This is revenge for the fact that we disrupted their plans.”

According to Nemichev, the main motivation for taking prisoners is the opportunity to exchange them for their brothers. “This is a great motivation, and that’s why everyone is trying to get the prisoners exchanged,” he added.

Commenting on the state of fortifications, he noted that “Kraken” built shelters with its own hands.

“In the direction of Lyptsi, we ourselves prepared defensive positions. Therefore, the enemy did not manage to break through us.

We started raising questions about fortifications in the Kharkiv region. We liberated the area a year and a half ago until now, and no one has done the fortification. They began to raise this issue, met with the head of the Central Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce. The point is, and we talked about it with him, that he is not responsible for where exactly to make shelters. And that’s right. There is military engineering, which plans where to make shelters and fortifications. And after that, the regional administration or other levers of power make tenders, allocate equipment. At that moment, everything was going in the direction of Kupyansko-Izyumskyi. And no one looked here, they thought that everything was normal there. Although the enemy was there, there is and will be. Fortification structures then began to be built, but from the Sumy direction. That is, they did not have time to reach us.

I believe that if everything is done correctly on the slopes, then there is no need to prepare anything. Of course, there should be a first line, a second line, a third line. But if everything is done correctly, the fire equipment and troops are placed correctly, I do not think that we will miss an offensive for the third time.” – emphasized Nemichev.

Regarding the plans of the Russians for the Kharkiv region, Nemichev believes:

“If we take the city of Kharkiv itself. Kharkiv was, is and will be a front-line city. Our neighbor will not go anywhere. Here it depends on us, on the military leadership, on the political leadership, how we will properly prepare the fortifications, natural barriers. We can do everything so that the enemy does not even think of moving towards the city of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region.

It’s all real. The example of Israel and other countries that live with such a neighbor and, in principle, live normally, develop, build beautiful cities and the country. This is all real, but it depends on some factors. I understand how to do it. We are ready to share experience and implement various projects.”

Konstantin Nemichev also expressed his vision regarding the peace talks:

“If we take the negotiations in particular, then they are going on even now. There were negotiations, I am talking with the Americans, with various parliamentarians, with Europeans, the negotiations are going on. Now they are trying to find the format that will suit us. It is no secret that we are now fully at war with such a big country as Russia.

We already have a limited resource, and they already have a limited resource. I will give an example: these are armored vehicles and tanks. When they were still advancing with vehicles, we destroyed 250-300 vehicles per month along the entire front. And their ability to manufacture new tanks is up to 10 units. In 2023, they completely changed the approach to war. They redesigned their army. Until 2023, it was a stubborn Soviet army that operates strictly according to statutes. It was possible to read in the charter how they will now act and take countermeasures. And in the 23rd year, they completely reformatted the army and began to use an infantry element. “Wagner” tactics, they began to use small infantry groups.

I will return to the negotiation process. Of course they are. They have always been, for example, in relation to prisoners. We are constantly changing prisoners. If we take into account the geopolitical situation, negotiations are inevitable. We cannot be at war all the time. If we are constantly fighting, then without reforming the army, it will not lead to anything good. And it is no secret to anyone that they do not see us in NATO.

My point: If I’m not mistaken, in 2019 we were developing an alliance called Intermarium. What is its advantage? Its advantage is that we want to unite countries that are threatened by the Russian Federation. That is, it is Ukraine, the Baltic countries, Poland, Germany, Britain. That is, these countries that are next to the enemy. And we can really do a lot with this union. Do not wait for help from the mythical NATO, but do what we can. That is, to work out a defensive position, someone in this union will finance, someone will deal with the military industry, that is, distribute the roles and move on. And Ukraine, our biggest trump card is people with experience, they are officers with experience.

Because of this, we must be the flagship in this association. And I am even still in touch with various parliamentarians of Lithuania and Poland, with whom we talked about this association. In other words, it is necessary to set accents and create an own association that will defend the entire Western world. If you sign some nonsense now, it won’t last long. We saw it all.”