We know that Mikhail Us is a captain in the Russian Armed Forces from many of his own photographs, where we can clearly see his name and deduce his rank in the army displayed on his uniform.

Mikhail Us in his military uniform. His name (M.N. Us) can be seen on his left breast. (source)

Mikhail Us in an officer’s uniform, with a number of medals (including the Order of Courage) and showing that he is a captain in the Russian Armed Forces. (source)

Mikhail Us before 2016 Victory Day (May 9) celebrations in Krasnodar. (source)

Mikhail Us posing with a Buk missile launcher. (source)

Us seems to serve in the 90th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, part of the 49th Army. In the photograph below, we see portions of the name of the 90th Anti-Missile Brigade (90-я зе…) and the 49th Army (49-й общев…) in a photograph below from Us’s social media profile.

Mikhail Us in front of a poster that gives both the brigade and army’s designation. (source)

We know that it was Mikhail Us in the photographs with the drone not just because of the similarity in faces, but also because he wears the same shirt that he uploaded in two of the photographs on his social media profile. One of these was included by Askai in his post, showing Us holding a gun. Another shows Us in a tent, likely during military exercises, with another man.

Mikhail Us, originally shared on his own social media profile. (source, source)

Mikhail Us (right) wearing same shirt as he did while in the Donbas, with DNR fighters. (source)

Significance of Askai’s Findings

We have long known about Russia’s direct involvement in the ongoing war in the Donbas, but Askai’s findings show us the vast range of direct action Russia has taken. There have been few, if any, well documented cases showing direct visual evidence of an active Russian officer or soldier from an anti-aircraft brigade in Ukraine — until now. There have been a couple of instances where we suspected this, including the shootdown of MH17, but Mikhail Us marks first time we have seen a photograph or video of an active Russian anti-aircraft soldier in Ukraine embedded with separatist forces.

Digital forensic research shows us that Russia has sent military personnel with expertise in anti-aircraft defense to Ukraine, perhaps even having direct involvement in the numerous shoot-downs of OSCE SMM drones. Even more, Mikhail Us was in the Donbas in September 2015, over six months after the end of the so-called “hot period” of the war. While this evidence may be over a year-and-a-half old, it should reshape our perspective of the intensity of Russia’s previous participation in the Donbas, and therefore its adherence to the Minsk agreements.