There’s a saying in the military, “If it’s senseless, but it works, it’s not senseless.” Often this refers to makeshift weapons and ammunition. Having to wait for a long time for Ukrainian industrial weapons and Western armament models to arrive, the volunteers and engineers have started to produce and improve the existing types of weapons. One of these is a makeshift ‘Guerrilla Grad’ multiple rocket launcher mounted on an off-road vehicle. Many artillery units are now actively using it. Among them are the artillery operators of the Aidar Battalion fighting outside the city of Bakhmut.
This makeshift modification of the Grad has certain advantages over the standard variant. The cost of converting a civilian SUV into a multiple rocket launcher is only 160 thousand UAH.
The Guerilla Grad has a range of up to 25 kilometers (15.5 miles). It also has high target destruction accuracy, even compared to the standard Grad.
Low visibility and high speed. The vehicle quickly approaches the line, stops a short distance from it, fires at the target, and leaves the dangerous position rapidly. And it is not a target large enough for the enemy to spend significant resources to destroy it.
By hitting targets and positions far from the front line, the Guerilla Grad has a significant psychological impact on the enemy and keeps them strung up.
The Guerilla Grad: Getting Ready
Soldiers get ready to load standard Grad missiles into the launcher guides of the volunteer-built Guerrilla Grad.The fuses are screwed on to the front of the Grad missiles just before the team leaves for a combat mission.Soldiers with Veselyi and Artek call signs load a Grad missile into the launcher guides of the makeshift Guerilla Grad.Veselyi screws fuses on to the front of the missiles and checks everything before leaving for a combat mission.The Guerrilla Grad sets off on a combat mission.A Ukrainian self-propelled artillery vehicle is seen blown up on the road to Chasiv Yar. The Russians frequently attack this area with their Lancet kamikaze drones.
The Guerilla Grad Fires
At the firing position, everything happens very fast because the enemy drones can track the car and transmit the coordinates for an enemy artillery strike or an attack with the Lancet kamikaze drones, which are often sent to the rear of the Ukrainian positions for this very purpose—to destroy the long-range artillery.
The soldiers fix the car in place with the retractable feet to improve firing accuracy.Meanwhile, Veselyi aligns the Guerilla Grad on the target by working with the aiming circle.The first shot is usually a spotting shot. The subsequent shot hits the target accurately, although sometimes, they can hit it even with the first shot.Artek prepares the foundational setup for the shot.Veselyi makes the final preparations, and then everyone takes cover and waits for the commander to give the order over the radio.The commander gives the green light. After the order to fire, the wired remote control activates the rocket motor. The missile hisses and flies toward the Russian positions 15 kilometers (9 miles) away.
A drone hovers over the Russian positions. It records the location of the missile hit and transmits this data to the commander at the base. It sends the data back to the team of the combat vehicle via a secure channel.
The soldiers wait for the information about the result and the adjustments from their commander.The unit commander with the call sign Chychen uses drone footage to monitor the precision of the strikes against the enemy.After receiving the adjustments from the commander, Veselyi adjusts the Guerilla Grad to hit the target even more precisely.
The Guerilla Grad is designed to have three launcher guides. But in a previous mission, one of the guides was torn off during firing. Therefore, the system now fires only two shots until an additional guide is reinstalled.
The second shot—and everyone runs to the Guerilla Grad to switch it to the moving mode. They have to leave immediately.In the next minute, we leave the positions that may come under fire.
The commander, Chychen, is waiting at the base. When he sees us taking a picture of him in shorts, he laughs and says people will be making fun of him. But that’s part of life here. It’s a blistering hot summer, and combat activity is a daily occurance. There is just no time for formalities. You have to keep fighting and live fast.
Chychen informs the team that they have hit the target. Everyone is happy to hear that.
Veselyi and Chychen tease each other.The Guerrilla Grad’s operational activity and combat missions run without stopping if necessary. Artek drinks a Non Stop Energy Drink and makes a joke about this.
Talking with Hrek, I ask, “How do you feel when you know you have hit the target?”
He gives me an honest answer.
“You feel euphoric when you hit it. But let’s call things by what they are: basically, you’re happy because you just killed someone…. But they are the ones who invaded us! So we’re doing the right thing. And there’s no need to think too much about it.”
Hrek’s patch reads: “We’ll bust the fuck out of them!”The soldiers load a new batch of missiles into the Guerilla Grad.The unit is very friendly and professional, with positive vibes. Everyone knows what they are doing. Everyone is a volunteer.The Guerrilla Grad is loaded and ready for a new combat mission.While waiting for the information about new targets, we eat delicious borscht cooked by Moriak, whose call sign—’Sailor’—refers to his time serving in the Navy.Between combat missions, Hrek repairs the running gear of one of the unit’s SUVs.And then there are smoke breaks when you can sit down, smoke a cigarette, and talk about combat missions or just about life.There’s also a sports ground and a barbell. Someone is always lifting it. Good physical condition is important in war.
Soon, information comes that a new target has been spotted, and the commander gives the order to engage and fire. The unit gets ready in a few minutes and sets off. I stay at the base with the commander and the reconnaissance pilots.
Artek burns rubber as the Guerrilla Grad leaves for another combat mission.I remain with the unit commander, Chychen, and the reconnaissance team, which adjusts the fire of the Guerilla Grad and their unit’s other artillery detachments—mortars, howitzers, and other artillery.Drone footage is streamed to the monitors in real-time. The photo shows the entrance to Bakhmut. Right here, in the center, a well-known aircraft monument used to stand.In the drone images, Bakhmut looks poignant. The city is completely destroyed. The once lively neighborhoods have turned into scorched earth.We see Russian soldiers moving in real-time. In the middle of the photo is a figure of a Russian soldier walking down the street. But shooting artillery at a single moving target like this is not effective. Artillery strikes groups of infantry, positions, or equipment.I talk with the commander for some time, then the Guerilla Grad reaches the firing position, and Chychen begins coordinating its work.A female cat named Sobaka (‘Dog’) has been lying next to us the whole time. The guys from this unit have found her shell-shocked in Bakhmut and brought her with them. Now she has two kittens.The Guerilla Grad has successfully fired on the Russian positions deep in the rear of the enemy defenses and can now return.The Guerrilla Grad returns from another combat mission.Some soldiers have gone to another place where they are stationed. It is too dangerous to live all together. A large contingent is easy to detect and attack.Moriak cooks ground beef pasta for dinner.
For dinner, we have ground beef pasta cooked by Moriak (delicious!). Then we thank the soldiers and the commander and go home.
The evening is quiet and warm. There would have been no thought of war but for the regular sounds of artillery in the distance.
On the one of villages to way home, we meet young women returning from swimming in the river.A stop at the river where the locals enjoy their time, fishing to the distant sounds of artillery.One of the fishermen shows us his catch—some nice little crucian carp. Summer. Normally it is the time of rest. But the summer of 2023 is the time of war….Chuck with Sobaka, a Bakhmut rescue cat, in a garage next to the Guerrilla Grad missiles.
