Russian Combat Unit Using Horses to Covertly Supply Troops

A long article published in the Moscow-sponsored news agency publication Bashkirinform, profiles how the members of a mobilized combat unit from Bashkiria are utilizing their civilian skills to carry out their military tasks. One of the more surprising details the article highlights is how the unit is using horses to support its operations.

The Bashkiria military horses

Photo: Nexta “X” (formerly)Twitter

The report was picked up by a number of Ukrainian news and social media sites including the Ukrainian military news site Ishchi Svoikh and Nexta tv.

“Horses move across broken ground better than any vehicle, and unlike trucks and quad cycles do not attract the attention of drones,” the regimental commander of the Bashkir troops is quoted as saying.

Another officer, identified by his callsign “Bashkir” said that “Horses are particularly effective in delivering supplies to troops in the early morning hours, and the hardy, intelligent Bashkir breed can carry up to a 200 kilogram. load to troops on the front-line.”

The modern Bashkir horse breed has strong blood lines tracing back a millennium to a time when the Bashkir nation lived as horse-mounted nomads on the high Asian steppe, “Bashkir” claimed.

He went on to say that Bashkir horses require no special feed to thrive physically in Ukraine, but for war work they need to be acclimated to explosions and gunshots.

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British Defence Intelligence Update Ukraine 23 December 2024

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The first two horses delivered to the unit are named “Khan” and “Marseilles.” After an initial test period and on the arrival of a military veterinarian, the regiment intends to expand its equine supply unit to ten animals, Bashkir told Bashkirinform reporter Eduard Kuskarbekov.

The Russian Federation’s Republic of Bashkiria or Bashkortostan, is a semi-autonomous territory located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. It is one of the most populous republics within the federation, its inhabitants being predominantly Muslim ethnic Bashkirs.

Ukraine’s top military command has identified Russia’s supply and logistics network as a priority target for its long-range strikes. The most effective long-range attack weapons currently in use by the Ukrainian army for that mission are US-manufactured M270 and HIMARS systems firing GPS-guided rockets out to a range of 80 km. Targeting data for the rockets most commonly is collected by drones equipped with infrared and thermal observation systems.