"Burning hearts. Nerves of steel." These are the qualities attributed to the soldiers of Kaskad's troops, according to the Telegram channel of this special elite unit. It is full of videos of Russian drones bombing Ukraine on a heavy metal background and portraits of these "fighters", with licked hairstyles and adorned with state-of-the-art equipment.

"Burning hearts. Nerves of steel. The will to defeat Nazism," said the Telegram channel of the Kaskad unit. © Screenshot France 24 / Kaskad /Telegram

"When the homeland called, the cadets took up arms without hesitation and stood up to defend their homeland," reads one of the captions accompanying the photos. A neat text, which does not fail to specify that the brave young men in the photos have previously studied at the Moscow University of the Russian Ministry of the Interior and are destined for a promising future.

Yet, according to Jeff Hawn, a Russian military expert and member of the U.S. think tank New Lines Institute, Kaskad's fighters are not as bold as they suggest. "From what we know, the unit was never within 80 kilometers of the fighting," he said.

Show that there is no free pass

Kaskad was founded in October 2022 by Dmitry Sablin, a member of the ruling United Russia party and former deputy to the Duma, according to Le Figaro, which refers to several testimonies and the influential Russian Telegram blog channel VchK-OGPU. According to Jeff Hawn, the unit was created in response to President Vladimir Putin's decision to declare the "partial mobilization" of the 300,000 reservists of the Russian army, called up and sent to fight in Ukraine.

According to Le Figaro, the group, based in the illegally annexed Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, is equipped and financed by the Russian Defense Ministry.

By creating this elite unit, which would have a hundred members, the Kremlin wanted to show that no one – not even the country's politicians – benefits from a free pass that exempts them from military service. "Kaskad is part of a broader effort to show that Russian parliamentarians and their families are actively participating in the war and fulfilling their patriotic duty," Hawn said.

Several Russian lawmakers and personalities, including Dmitry Sablin's own son, have since served in this unit.

Shoots sheltered from the fighting

But although the battalion tries to present itself as a real fighting group, according to its critics it is rather a "detachment of friends, including MPs and their children". "All of them want to present themselves as having participated in the war but do not want to go to the front," VKCh-OGPU was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

"Kaskad's fighters look to the future with confidence. Indeed, they are deeply convinced of the victory over fascism in Donbass." The many portraits of fighters published on the unit's Telegram channel are all taken against an identical background. © Screenshot France 24 / Kaskad /Telegram

The "dangers" to which Kaskad members face are virtually non-existent, Hawn said, noting that their contribution to the war effort was limited to photo ops in the service of Kremlin propaganda.

The Daily Telegraph published several photos of these fighters, preparing drones or scrutinizing computer screens "from comfortable bunkers".

"They participate for less than a month, take pictures, post them, and then go home," Hawn said. "Meanwhile, Russian soldiers are dying by the hundreds in the mud of Bakhmut."

"Increase your chances of being elected"

In the run-up to the Russian regional elections on 10 September, the Kaskad unit can also serve as a springboard to boost the campaign of some Russian parliamentarians.

In an op-ed published by the American think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Russian journalist Andrey Pertsev explains that the war in Ukraine and the title of "veteran" have become a "career elevator" for Russian politicians.

"The most cunning will be able to appropriate the label of 'veteran', acquired through trips to the front during a photo op," he writes, noting that trips by Russian politicians to occupied Ukraine are already multiplying.

Duma member Oleg Golikov is one of those who temporarily gave up their administrative duties to "fight" for their homeland by joining Kaskad. According to Le Figaro, he recently completed two three-month service with the unit, proudly declaring: "I am on the front line to defend our homeland."

"We flew 50 to 70 km beyond enemy lines, to observe where the guns that were bombing our positions were positioned, and to direct our artillery," he told the business newspaper Vedomosti, adding that his unit specializes in the use of drones.

According to the same media, some 56 members of the Duma and the Russian regional assemblies – not benefiting from an exemption if they can be mobilized – were present on the front in April in various units. So far, three local parliamentarians have died in combat.

This text has been adapted from English. Find here the original article.

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