From Armenia to Ukraine: Captain Hamlet Avagyan's Journey to Commanding a Foreign-Led Assault Regiment

Background and Motivation

Captain Hamlet Avagyan commands the R.U.G. assault regiment, part of the 2nd Corps of the National Guard 'Khartyia,' which is composed mostly of foreign fighters. He arrived from Armenia in 2015 to join the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), initially viewing it as another line on his unusual resume. However, after meeting Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo in Avdiivka, he began to feel Ukraine was home. "When everyone left, I stayed — I decided not to abandon my friends," Avagyan says.

Joining Khartyia and the Kupiansk Operation

In 2023, Avagyan promised then-brigade commander (now corps commander) Ihor "Kornet" Obolensky to transfer his unit to Khartyia. The process was lengthy and difficult, but he joined in 2025, just as the Kupiansk operation was beginning. His regiment had only one month to prepare. "Kupiansk is an urban mass. We had to train fighters for city fighting — the hardest in the world," explains the captain. Surprise was key: the Russians did not expect an attack in that sector. The successful operation marked the first Ukrainian counterattack in a long time.

Combat Experience and Tactics

Avagyan's regiment relies on mobility and surprise. He notes that only 1% of his troops have been killed by FPV drones because trained soldiers can evade by maneuvering. "When you hear the sound, you know a drone is coming and you can't stand still. Or you can fight back — shoot, hit," he says. Kupiansk is now under full Ukrainian fire control, though Russians attempt infiltration across the Oskil River.

Early Life and International Experience

Born in Yerevan, Avagyan served in the Armenian army as a mortar operator, then studied geodesy in Moscow but disliked the profession. He worked in his father's furniture business before joining the 2008 Georgia war and later participating in special operations in the Middle East (Baghdad, Syria). "There, when the enemy has only a rifle and you attack with artillery — it's not war, it's a mission," he compares.

Formation of R.U.G. and Philosophy

In 2016, Avagyan signed a contract with the 130th Reconnaissance Battalion and formed a small group that grew into a regiment. Its emblem is a skull with a rose in its teeth, with the motto "Hope only for death." "I asked a friend: 'What in life can you rely on that will never deceive you?' He replied: 'Death never deceives, it will come anyway.' So we wrote that on the patch," Avagyan recalls. He suffered his first wound in 2016, and has a total of nine wounds, two severe — in the stomach and groin. After the second, Da Vinci saved his life.