Hamlet Avagyan is an Armenian officer who has been serving in the Ukrainian forces since 2015 and today commands the RUG Assault Regiment, which belongs to the 2nd Khartiia Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine.
His unit consists mainly of foreign volunteers from many countries, while he himself considers that everyone who signs a contract now serves as Ukrainian soldiers, regardless of their nationality.
Avagyan arrived in Ukraine from Armenia in 2015 to participate in the battles in Donetsk and Luhansk during the Anti-Terrorist Operation.
Initially he intended to stay for a short period of time, but his acquaintance with the Ukrainian commander Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo changed the course of his life.
As he mentions, through this friendship he began to consider Ukraine a second homeland and decided to continue fighting alongside the Ukrainians.
In 2016 he signed a contract with the 130th Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian armed forces and created a small reconnaissance and assault team, which later evolved into the RUG (Reconnaissance Assault Group) unit.
From a team of 12 men it gradually evolved into a larger force, which then turned into a battalion and finally into a regiment.
During the following years he fought in many of the most important battles of Donbas, among others in Avdiivka, at Butivka Mine, in Svitlodarsk, in Stanytsia Luhanska and in other sectors of the front.
During these operations he was wounded nine times, with two of his injuries considered particularly serious.
He himself attributes his rescue to his friend Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo, who, as he says, saved his life in one of the most critical moments.
In 2018 he moved to the 503rd Marine Battalion, which was then commanded by Vadym Sukharevskyi.
Avagyan states that he highly appreciated Sukharevskyi and consciously sought to serve under his command.
There he continued to participate in high-intensity operations along the front line.
In 2019 he settled his family in Mariupol, where he acquired a home, a business and planned to build a new life.
He describes Mariupol as his real home, explaining that he lost everything after the Russian invasion of 2022, a fact that remains to this day his greatest personal motivation.
With the start of the full Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, he immediately sent his family to Uzhhorod and participated in the battles around Kyiv, particularly in the region of Borodianka. Then he fought in the Donetsk and Mykolaiv regions, while he claims that his unit participated in many of the successful Ukrainian attacks in the region and that it was among the first to enter liberated Kherson.
Later his unit fought for a long time in Donbas and was then transferred to the 47th Mechanized Brigade "Magura", where it participated in the operations in the Kursk region of Russia.
There, according to Avagyan, soldiers from Colombia serving in his unit fought against North Korean soldiers who had been deployed on the side of Russia.
Avagyan considers that the creation of a large force of foreign volunteers was necessary so that Ukrainian soldiers could mainly take on command roles and specialized missions.
He mentions that he has recruited hundreds of volunteers from countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Israel, who serve in the ranks of the RUG.
He claims that, although many come initially for financial reasons or to gain combat experience, they subsequently develop strong bonds with Ukraine and continue to serve for several years.
In 2025 his unit joined the Khartiia Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Avagyan mentions that the RUG had just one month to prepare before deploying to the operation for Kupiansk.
He explains that the training focused on urban warfare, which he characterizes as the most demanding form of combat.
According to him, his forces carried out continuous reconnaissance, identified the weak points of the Russian defenses and exploited the element of surprise to advance into the city.
Avagyan describes the operation in Kupiansk as a significant success, claiming that it disproved the claims of Russia regarding full control of the city.
He also mentions that his units are specifically trained to deal with attacks from Russian FPV drones through swift maneuvers and immediate reactions.
After Kupiansk, the RUG also participated in operations in the area of Vovchansk, where, according to Avagyan, it carried out attacks against Russian positions without permanently retaining the ground, but with the aim of destroying opposing forces and causing casualties.
In March the unit was upgraded from a battalion to a regiment.
He himself now commands a much larger number of soldiers and dedicates a significant part of his time to organizing new units and commanding from headquarters, although he admits that he finds it difficult not to be on the front line himself.
Despite the years of war, he states that he does not feel he has changed as a person and that he continues to treat his soldiers in the same way as when he was a simple fighter.
He claims that the most important role of a commander is to protect his personnel and limit casualties as much as possible.
His greatest personal goal remains the return to Mariupol, which he considers his real home.
He mentions that he lost his home, business and everything he had created there after the Russian occupation of the city and declares his determination to return some day.
He also claims that he is willing to continue recruiting foreign volunteers for as long as necessary to strengthen the Ukrainian war effort.
Closing the interview, Avagyan states that after the war he intends to dedicate more time to his family, as his wife has been waiting for him all these years.
At the same time, he mentions that he closely follows developments in Armenia, but now considers Ukraine as the country for which he has dedicated his life.
www.bankingnews.gr
Readers’ Comments