Espanola, Espaniola (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

: Española) is a Russian military formation created from radical fans of football clubs, including

CSKA CSKA (Cyrillic: ЦСКА) is an abbreviation for "Central Sports Club of the Army" in several Slavic languages, and refers to military sports teams in may stand for: Bulgaria * Football clubs ** PFC CSKA Sofia, a professional association football ...

Spartak Spartak may refer to: In sports * Spartak (sports society), an international fitness and sports society that unites some countries of the former Soviet Union In Russia * FC Spartak Moscow, a football club *FC Spartak Kostroma, a football club * P ...

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

Zenit Zenit, meaning "zenith", may refer to: Spaceflight and rocketry * Zenit (rocket family), a Soviet family of space launch vehicles * Zenit (satellite), a type of Soviet spy satellite * Zenit sounding rocket, a Swiss rocket Sports * Zenit (sports ...

, Lokomotiv, Orel and other teams. The detachment commander is a representative of the Red-Blue Warriors group Stanislav Orlov, call sign ''“Испанец”'' (Spaniard). At the beginning of its existence, the formation existed under the Vostok battalion of the self-proclaimed DPR. Currently, the battalion is controlled by the PMC "Redut". Some of the members of the battalion espouse

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

views.

History

Initially, the battalion was formed as a volunteer unit, and then was integrated into the armed forces of the DPR. According to The Times, created by Stanislav Orlov and

Alexander Khodakovsky Alexander Sergeevich Khodakovsky ( rus, Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Ходако́вский, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ xədɐˈkofskʲɪj) is the commander of the pro-Russian Vostok Battalion formed in early May ...

. The unit took part in the fighting during the assault on Azovstal, as well as on the Kherson and

Zaporozhye Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populatio ...

fronts. In the spring of 2023, Espaniola announced that it had become a

private military company A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...

. The banner of General Yakov Baklanov, who participated in the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the ...

, is used as one of the symbols.

Members

The battalion consists of football fans of Russian clubs Zenit, Lokomotiv, Orel, Spartak, Torpedo, CSKA and other teams. According to Hispaniola commander Stanislav Orlov, the battalion initially numbered 500 people, including 100

kamikaze drone A loitering munition (also known as a suicide droneLoitering Muniti ...

operators. The unit is equipped by

football fans Association football culture, or football culture refers to the cultural aspects surrounding the game of association football. As the sport is global, the culture of the game is diverse, with varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness in e ...

from all over Russia. According to Orlov, the state and businessmen do not provide financial support to the unit. According to media reports, Espaniola is recruiting fighters with certain combat and technical skills: reconnaissance saboteurs,

snipers A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision ri ...

, drone operators,

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

anti-tank guided missiles An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder- ...

, signalmen, driver mechanics, doctors. The battalion has its own training ground for military recruits, where they are also taught how to clear mines, pilot drones and operate missile defense systems.

Famous members

On August 7, 2023, former player of the Russian national team,

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

and Lokomotiv

Andrei Solomatin Andrei Yuryevich Solomatin (russian: Андрей Юрьевич Соломатин; born 9 September 1975) is a Russian football manager and a former player.In August 2023, Solomatin announced that he is joining Russian Military Forces as a vo ...

announced his entry into the Hispaniola battalion. He also said that he received the call sign "Soloma" and is located near Bakhmut.{{Cite web , title=Бывший игрок сборной России по футболу Андрей Соломатин уехал добровольцем на войну , url=https://meduza.io/news/2023/08/07/byvshiy-igrok-sbornoy-rossii-po-futbolu-andrey-solomatin-uehal-dobrovoltsem-na-voynu , access-date=2024-04-06 , website=Meduza , language=ru

References

Paramilitary organizations based in Russia Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine