As they panned the camera to the other side of the village, they saw a small column of 25 BTR-80s. They were 8x8 wheeled amphibious armored personnel carriers, which each carried seven soldiers and had a 14.5mm heavy machine gun. The BMP-3s and the BTR-80s were very similar to the American Strykers and Bradleys.
“Specialist Tiller, zoom in to that section over there, near the edge of those woods,” directed Lieutenant Taylor. “I think those are additional tanks,” he said, pointing.
Childers was impressed; the Lt. had spotted the barrels of tank cannons sticking out through edges of the trees. As Specialist Tiller zoomed in, they could make out what appeared to be eight T-14 Armata tanks. These were the Russians’ newest tanks. Each one had a 125mm main gun with a new anti-tank round. It was rumored that these tanks could outmatch the American M1A2s and the German Leopard Tanks that were deployed in Ukraine.
SFC Childers told Lieutenant Taylor, “This isn’t good, Sir. This is a large armored force we are facing. Something beyond what we can handle.”
The Lieutenant nodded. He tapped Tiller on the shoulder. “Head over towards that other field behind the village, over there. I think there are helicopters spooling up.” Although he was already feeling the weight of the situation, he had to know what was waiting for them back there.
As the drone expanded its camera view, Tiller moved the drone back towards a large empty field. Sure enough, there sat six Mi-24D Hind helicopters, which were being fueled. They were getting close to moving out, too, because their rotors were already beginning to spin.
Sergeant Childers turned to the Lieutenant and said, “Sir, you better call this in. They will want an exact count of what we are seeing.”
Childers wanted to give the lieutenant a chance to shine for his superiors. “It’s time he starts to take the lead, while I’m here to help make sure he doesn’t screw things up too badly,” he thought, half humorously. The lieutenant was still really green, but he wanted to see him succeed.
Lieutenant Taylor nodded and lowered his head towards the speaker on the radio. “Warhorse, this is Nemesis-Two-One. We have eyes on the village. Are you seeing what we are seeing?” he asked, wanting to know if he should relay what they discovered or just wait for further orders.
Nearly thirty seconds went by with no response. Then a voice suddenly buzzed through. “Nemesis-two-one, this is Warhorse. We copy. We want you to continue to monitor the units’ movements as best you can without being spotted. If they cross the demarcation line, then they are declared hostiles and I want you to engage them as best you can. I’ve alerted our artillery support; they will give you full priority.”
“Good, copy. We’ll engage them if they cross. Nemesis-two-one out,” Lt. Taylor responded. He flashed a look to his platoon sergeant that seemed to ask for some reassurance that he had done everything correctly.
Smiling, SFC Childers said, “Good job, LT. We made sure they knew what we were seeing. I’m a bit concerned about those T-14s though. That’s a lot of tanks across the way, and six attack helicopters on top of it. This could get real dicey very quick.”
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Bradley Porter had just taken over command of the 4th Squadron known as "The Saber" eight weeks ago. He was new to the 2nd Cavalry, but definitely not new to the Cavalry. He was still learning the capabilities of his various troops, non-commissioned officers, and officers, when suddenly they were all placed on alert status and subsequently deployed (practically overnight) to Kiev, Ukraine. They had quickly headed to the Pryluky Airbase, ninety miles east of Kiev and forty-two miles from the current demarcation zone where the Russian units were.
In the span of a few days, his squadron became one of the most forward American elements in the Ukraine charged with supporting the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team and the 1st Armored Division, which was still half a day away (the armored units had been moving most of the night from Poland heading towards their frontline positions). This left LTC Porter’s Squadron rather exposed, but also gave the armor units the eyes they needed to know where to deploy their forces, should they need to repel a Russian invasion.
Major Light, the Squadron S3 (Operations Officer), confronted LTC Porter. “Sir, it looks like that Russian unit is getting ready to pull out of their position. Shouldn’t we order the platoon back? Their firepower won’t be enough to stop them.”
Porter replied, “No, I want them to stay in position. We need them to keep an eye on that unit now that they have been found. Besides, they have stinger missiles, TOWs, and Javelins with them. We may need them to set an ambush for the armor units,” he said confident that he had made the right decision.
“What Ukrainian units do we have in the area?” Porter inquired. “Perhaps we can get some additional armor support from them until that armored brigade arrives,” he thought.
Major Light walked over to the map board hanging on one of the tent poles. “Part of the 17th Tank Brigade is in the area,” he said as he pulled down a clipboard near the map and looked at some of the units written on it. “Yes, right here,” he asserted as he pointed to a spot on the map.
“About twelve kilometers away is the 25th Armor Battalion,” he continued. “We have two American LNOs attached to it — call sign Echo Twelve. You want me to reach out to them and see if we can get them to reinforce Nemesis Troop?” the major asked, hoping he could send some additional reinforcements.
As LTC Porter walked over to the map board, he placed a red “X” on the village Major Light had just pointed out. He looked at the location of his other units near the Russian armored unit and the location of the Ukrainians troops. If he could get the Ukrainian armored units to cooperate, perhaps they could help provide some additional support to his battalion until additional American units arrived.
“Contact the American LNOs that are imbedded with that Ukrainian unit,” directed LTC Porter. “Tell them what we are facing, and see if they will move to reinforce our troops at the demarcation line. Then, make sure 2nd Armor knows what we are seeing and where those tanks are. Also, make sure they know we spotted T-14 Armatas and six Hinds. Find out if they are ready to assist should we need them,” he added.
They still had twelve hours until the end of the Russian deadline. The S3 turned and began to make several radio calls to the other units operating in their area. 2nd Armor had an advance unit, a battalion of tanks, and an aviation unit that arrived at Pryluky a couple of hours ago, ahead of the main body. As the men and women of the operations center began to start coordinating their operations with the next higher command and other units in the area, the realization that a confrontation with Russia could be hours away began to set in. No one wanted a shooting war with Russia, but everyone had a job to do and was determined to do it to the best of their ability.
Colonel General Igor Nikolaev was the Commander of the Western Military District, and though he did not agree with decisions his superiors were making, he executed his orders without fail. He kept many thoughts to himself, which kept him out of trouble. “We are playing with fire by testing the Americans’ resolve,” he believed. “So far, the Americans have risen to our challenges. Well, at least I don’t have to listen to my subordinate commanders keep asking me if we are going to engage the Americans in Ukraine or stand down… that decision has finally been made.”
Kersschh. General Nikolaev heard a sound emanating from his radio. He grabbed the device and smacked it down on the counter to “fix” it — surprisingly, his harsh methods worked.