A sabotage and reconnaissance battalion named Erzi (in English, Eagle) is being formed in Ingushetia. It will operate as part of the Cossack reconnaissance brigade Terek and will take part in Russian military operations on the territory of Ukraine.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in the battalion’s Telegram channel. Information about the creation of the unit was also published in the Ingush government’s official Telegram channel, confirming its official status.
According to these reports, the initiative to establish the battalion came from the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the North Caucasus Federal District, Yury Chaika. The initiative was supported by the Head of Ingushetia, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, and Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. However, as of publication, none of these figures had made an official public statement regarding the creation of the battalion.
Ingush authorities have linked the creation of the Erzi battalion to a history of military service among the peoples of the North Caucasus. Government publications recalled the participation of mountaineers in the Russian–Turkish wars of the 19th century, in the First World War as part of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division (Wild Division), as well as in the Great Patriotic War (the term used in Russia for World War II).
The Ingush government has described the creation of the Erzi battalion as a ‘significant event’ and a ‘contribution to strengthening the country’s defence capabilities’.
Reports emphasise that the formation of the new unit is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Ingushetia. The Erzi battalion will become part of the Terek brigade, which includes several battalions — Terek, Skif, Kaspii, Baltika, Grebenskoi — as well as an artillery division and the ‘Normandie–Niemen’ unit.
The Cossack Terek brigade was formed as part of the system of Cossack units that have been revived in Russia since 2022.
According to official data, people serving in the Terek brigade represent various nationalities and faiths. On 4 July in Pyatigorsk, the Terek brigade received a battle flag bearing the personal signature of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In recent years, there has been active participation of Ingush residents in combat operations as part of various volunteer formations. The republican authorities and military commissariats have been actively recruiting volunteers, including through promotional campaigns and the provision of material incentives.
Since the start of the fighting, according to the independent regional media outlet Fortanga, at least 164 Ingush natives serving in various formations of the Russian Armed Forces have been killed. The identities of some of them have not been established.
In addition, since January 2024, residents of the republic have submitted 126 reports of missing soldiers, almost half of which concerned men under the age of 30. Among the cases where the place of disappearance was indicated, the Severodonetsk district of Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast and Russia’s Kursk Oblast were among the regions most frequently mentioned.
Elizaveta Chukharova
