Roman Bagayev: Two-time top tank ace in Ukraine’s army

Age: 29
Education: Kharkiv Institute of Armored Forces
Profession: Military officer
Did you know? In the hottest months of Russia’s war in Donbas, Bagayev fought under the call sign “Tulip.” The name was given to Bagayev by his fellow officers in order to jokingly sting him over the fact that he constantly argued against various details in their combat unit’s battle plans.

War, among many other things, tends to reveal the hidden traits of human beings. In the fear and alarm of fighting, those standing in the thin red line often resolve to do things they never knew they were capable of.

And sometimes they end up manifesting hidden talents that make them shine brightly in their lives.

This is what happened to Roman Bagayev, who made his way from being a simple guy with no idea what to do in his life to a distinguished military officer and Ukraine’s top-performing tank ace in the war.

Bagayev was born in Crimea, which is now occupied by Russia, but grew up in a small town in Poltava Oblast. Even though he graduated from a military college in the city of Kremenchuk in 2007, he still had no clear plans of pursuing a military career, let along becoming an expert in the art of tank warfare.

“I don’t think I had a dream of riding tanks since my childhood,” Bagayev says.

“However, my mom says that when I was a little boy, I saw a T‑34 tank monument in Kharkiv near the Institute of Armored Forces. And I said one day I would be a cadet at this military school. I don’t remember saying this, but my mom says it was the case.”

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Nonetheless, after college he enrolled at the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute to study a civilian specialty. But he left the school very soon as he didn’t like it at all. Instead, he joined the Armored Forces Institute — again, without any special taste for tanks.

But when Russia’s war in the Donbas broke out shortly after, he was commissioned as a deputy company leader with the 51st Mechanized Infantry Brigade and proved to be an exceptionally talented commander of T‑64 main battle tanks.

Bagayev was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskiy 3rd Class for his effective leadership in combat as part of the Special Task Battalion Kolos fighting in Donbas. He was then entrusted to lead an armored company (normally a unit of 10 tanks) with the recently-formed 14th Mechanized Brigade.

But the finest hour of his young career was still to come.

In 2016 and 2017, Bagayev and his men were recognized as the best performing tank platoon of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

And for two years in a row, Bagayev’s unit was selected to represent Ukraine at the Strong Europe Tank Challenge, the competition of NATO’s best armored forces held annually at the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

When his five-year contract with the Armed Forces expired in 2018, Bagayev, in a bid to ensure more financial security for his young family, decided to leave the military. But, after a year of deliberations in civilian life, he nonetheless returned to his homely 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade — this time as a battalion deputy commanding officer in the rank of major.

Bagayev’s combat unit is now deployed in the war zone of Donbas.

When asked about his own recipe for becoming a tank ace, Major Bagayev sums it up with just three key notions: training, cohesion and expertise.

“You and your men must be training really, really hard all the time,” he says. “Until your actions are flawless. Besides, men in the tank unit must learn to understand each other with no words, in split seconds. It’s all about a well-orchestrated team acting together as one.”

“Guys in my crews were more than just fellow servicemen, more than even friends. We fought and lived together, eventually becoming nearly relatives. I even had crews where two guys who were actual brothers!”

“And of course, the deepest understanding of the warhorses we ride is essential. A good tank crew is a happy little family of experts in their fields.”