On February 6, 2023, three understrength companies of the Tatarstan volunteer battalion “Alga” launched an offensive against AFU positions near Vuhledar. Approximately 27 men returned. Roughly the same number died on the spot. The rest were wounded or went missing.

This was the same February 6 assault described in our dossier on General Mikhail Gudkov and the “meat grinder assaults” on Vuhledar — but “Alga” attacked not as part of Gudkov’s naval infantry, but separately, within the ranks of the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. The failure proved to be universal for everyone who advanced on Vuhledar that day.

The Named Battalion “Forward”

“Alga” (Tatar for “Forward”) was formed by the authorities of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2022, among the country’s first regional volunteer battalions. It is based in Novocherkassk and is part of the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. Simultaneously with “Alga,” Tatarstan formed the “Timer” (“Iron”) battalion, and later “Batyr” and several other battalions named after Heroes of the Soviet Union and Heroes of Russia.

Ambush Near Yehorivka

According to Igor Girkin, a former field commander of the self-proclaimed “DPR,” before the February 6 attack, commanders organized an impromptu “rally” for the soldiers: they lined them up with banners and gave a fifteen-minute lecture on courage. “There was stupidity involved,” Girkin said, adding that the unit was essentially routed without engaging in organized combat.

One of the surviving participants of the battle, whose words were quoted by the Tatarstan publication “Business-Online,” described what happened: first, the column was hit by a mine, blowing up the lead combat vehicle, then intense shelling began from mortars, drones, and small arms directly from the tree line along which the column was moving. The soldiers dismounted from the last vehicles already under fire, unable to raise their heads.

The offensive took place near the village of Yehorivka, Volnovakha district — part of the Vuhledar operation, which, according to independent estimates, resulted in hundreds of deaths among only the “elite” naval infantry brigades, about which we have already written. The fate of “Alga” became part of the same catastrophe, just in a different military column.

Half a Year Missing

The positions where the battalion fell remained with the Ukrainian side, and it was physically impossible to evacuate the bodies of the dead. The fate of the missing remained unknown for many months: they were officially recognized as deceased only about half a year later.

In summer 2024, “Idel.Realii” established that over 130 “volunteers” of the “Alga” battalion were still listed as missing; by October of the same year, this estimate grew to over 150 people. Some bodies, according to relatives and fellow soldiers, remained unevacuated years after the battle.

“Shaitan”

Fellow soldiers directly blamed the battalion commander with the callsign “Shaitan” for the deaths of their comrades near Vuhledar. This did not stop his career: in autumn 2023, “Alga” under his command was routed again — this time near Bakhmut. And in October 2024, during the battles for Andriivka, Ukrainian forces captured “Shaitan” — along with two other battalion commanders of the 72nd Brigade, whose callsigns, according to the Ukrainian officer who captured him, were “liquidated.”

Survivors Nearly Accused of Desertion

The story of “Alga” has another plot, unfolding almost simultaneously with the rout near Vuhledar. Some volunteers, having served their four-month contract, surrendered their weapons and submitted reports of dismissal — as stipulated by the terms of their initial volunteer agreement. The reports were signed by their direct company and battalion commanders.

But the commander of the 72nd Brigade refused to sign — without explanation. According to “Vazhnye Istorii,” this put the volunteers themselves at risk: servicemen not dismissed on time risked being accused of desertion if they tried to leave the unit independently. One former “Alga” fighter sought justice through the Kazan Garrison Military Court.

Tatarstan — Russia’s Second Region by Losses

The story of “Alga” is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader picture. According to joint calculations by BBC and Mediazona, as of July 2026, Tatarstan ranks second among Russian regions by the number of confirmed deaths — 8,845 people, trailing only Bashkortostan (10,106). According to “Idel.Realii’s” own, more conservative estimates for early 2025, at least 3,955 people from Tatarstan have died in the war.

This is the same Tatarstan that we already mentioned in the dossier on Bashkortostan as a neighboring Volga region with comparably disproportionate losses — only there, its own story involved not the 31st Motorized Rifle Regiment, but a volunteer battalion named “Forward.”

228 Names

On February 8, 2025, on the anniversary of the battle near Vuhledar, a memorial event was held in Kazan Victory Park in memory of the fallen “Alga” fighters. A list of the names of the deceased — at least 228 servicemen of the battalion — was published by the servicemen themselves, not by the Ministry of Defense or the republic’s authorities.

What Ultimately Happened

The battalion, named after moving forward, was defined by a single battle in which the only movement available to the survivors was retreat through a minefield under mortar fire. Its bodies lay in the steppe for half a year because the positions remained with the enemy. Its survivors were nearly accused of desertion for attempting to go home after their legal contract expired. And the officer, whom his own soldiers considered responsible for the rout, continued to command the battalion for almost two more years — until he was captured near another city.

The list of 228 names was not compiled by the authorities of Tatarstan or the Russian Ministry of Defense. It was compiled by the “Alga” fighters themselves — those who survived so that there would be someone to compile it.