The Aidar Battalion, named after the River Aidar, was a Kiev Loyalist militia formed from volunteers in the Luhansk Region to fight Russian backed separatists. It rapidly grew to about 400 men and women.
The semi official unit utilised a variety of equipment and uniforms suitable for a light infantry militia.
The detachment above is equipped with Russian weapons and a mix of current and obsolete camo-gear.
Seven have assault rifles, the medic also carrying a disposable one-shot RPG 22, and is supported by a sniper, RPG 7 man, and a PK LMG gunner.
![24-й БТрО ЗСУ «Айдар».png](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/24-%D0%B9_%D0%91%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%9E_%D0%97%D0%A1%D0%A3_%C2%AB%D0%90%D0%B9%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%C2%BB.png)
Unit Badge
The Adair Battalion became notorious for atrocities and far right politics - not unusual for either side in the Ukraine War. It was deactivated at the end of 2014 and reformed as a regular army unit.
Rear View
Not entirely issue headgear.
Close Up
The ubiquitous RPG7 - one of the most successful modern infantry weapons in the modern world.
Fire Team
Mote the medic bag and RPG 22 (or similar) on the first gunman.
A Range of Camo
A memoir from one of the Aidar fighters is available on Amazon.
Around 130 Aidar fighters/soldiers were killed between 2014-18, not all by the enemy. Drink and modern weapons are a lethal combination.