Eclairs, combat NLP, and the spirit of "Wagner". What is hidden behind the fence of special forces unit 3214
Military unit 3214 in Uruchcha is considered key in the special forces system. It cooperated with PMC "Wagner" and participated in suppressing protests in Belarus. But recent data on public procurement indicates: under the leadership of Mikalai Karpyankou, the unit has turned into a state within a state. While the rest of the army lives by the regulations, here they eat cakes and eclairs, study the psychology of survival in concentration camps, and learn from Russian mercenaries, DW reports .
Showcase of Internal Troops
Military unit 3214 of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus is one of the most famous and well-trained special purpose units in the country. It is located in Minsk, in the Uruchcha district.
The unit includes three special purpose battalions, a reconnaissance company, a special operations support company, an honor guard company, and a support battalion.
The unit performs a wide range of tasks: it participates in maintaining public order, counteracts illegal armed formations, is involved in anti-terrorist operations, and is also used to suppress protests and detain opponents of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's regime.
Training camps are regularly held at the unit's base, including for youth. The military-patriotic club "Rys" operates here, where teenagers are taught basic military skills. At the same time, the unit itself is considered exemplary for the internal troops — it is here that the level of training and provision is largely demonstrated.
How Fighters Became Close to "Wagnerites"
Since 2023, military unit 3214 has been in the spotlight due to its contacts with the Russian PMC "Wagner". After their departure from Ukraine, its instructors began conducting classes with both military personnel and pupils of the "Rys" club. These visits were accompanied by symbolic gestures: the "Wagner" PMC flag was seen near the unit's flagpole, and the commander of the internal troops and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mikalai Karpyankou appeared with a non-regulation chevron styled after the symbolism of this structure.
Karpyankou himself openly spoke about cooperation with the "Wagnerites". According to him, it is not just about classes, but about combat coordination — joint practice of actions, where units must be ready to act together from the initial stages of exercises.
He emphasized that PMC fighters possess "unique experience" that is passed on to Belarusian security forces, and called them heroes. According to official data, over the past year, five new units and two volunteer detachments were created in the internal troops, which were trained with the participation of PMC "Wagner" instructors.
Unusual Purchases for Special Forces
Against this background, state purchases for unit 3214 stand out.
Over the past year, significant volumes of products not included in the usual army ration were purchased for the fighters: 400 kilograms of eclairs, almost two tons of cakes, 2.5 tons of marmalade and marshmallows, over two tons of glazed cheese curds, hundreds of kilograms of cookies and fruits, two tons of nuts, almost 150 thousand liters of juice. No other unit placed similar orders.
The unit's leadership also invests in professional training.
Specialized courses are paid for the fighters — from underwater diving for divers to industrial mountaineering and profiling, where methods of psychological observation and behavior analysis are studied.
The composition of the unit's library is also noteworthy — it is atypical for a military unit. In addition to standard legal literature, there are books on psychology and self-development.
In particular, the library contains Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" about survival in a concentration camp, as well as publications such as "Medicine for Nerves," "Managing Anger," "Beat Depression Before It Beats You," "Jealousy: How to Live with It and Save Relationships," "Freedom from Anxiety," "I'll Definitely Quit Tomorrow" (about addictions). There are also books on communication and psychological influence, for example, "Combat NLP: Techniques and Models of Hidden Manipulations and Protection Against Them," "Genius of Communication: How to Become One?".
Military unit 3214 also features fiction — fantasy by Sapkowski and Tolkien, modern novels "Help Me Die," "Shantaram."
How Karpyankou Helps His Fighters
DW sources among former security forces note that unit 3214 has always been in a special position, but after Karpyankou came to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its role and resources significantly increased.
According to them, he knows how to achieve additional opportunities for his units and explain to the leadership why they should receive priority. "Karpyankou knows how to promote the interests of his people and secure special conditions for them," says one of the interlocutors.
Another source notes that under Karpyankou, material conditions of service improved: the number of contract soldiers in the internal troops generally increased, and housing provision on preferential terms expanded. "Last year, two houses were commissioned for them," he pointed out. Karpyankou himself also spoke about infrastructure development in an interview with state television: according to him, comfortable service conditions are being created in the unit so that military personnel can recover, and barracks should correspond to the level of "barracks of the future."
According to sources, significant changes occurred in the internal troops since 2021, precisely when Mikalai Karpyankou was put in charge of supervising them.
Increased emphasis on special purpose units, which are oriented, among other things, towards suppressing protests — they make up about 35% of the total composition.
At the same time, the proportion of contract soldiers is increasing: about 20% of the personnel are officers, 60% are warrant officers and contract soldiers, and another 20% are conscripts.
Approximately 60% of conscripts sign a contract after service. Active rearmament is also underway, and since 2025, special attention has been paid to drones, which the internal troops have begun to assemble independently.
Comments