After graduating from the Secondary School of Zhdanov, Akim Apachev served with the Ukrainian Army for a short time.

[2] A 2023 article from The Moscow Times stated that Apachev was friends with Igor Mangushev, a Russian mercenary and political strategist who was executed by Ukrainian soldiers in February 2023.

The name is likely a reference to the American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, as his Instagram username is Akim_Apache, and it fits with his military persona.

Beginning in 2014, Akim Apachev served with the 5th Brigade "Oplot" of the Russian Orthodox Army in Eastern Ukraine.

[13] Apachev was ANNA's military correspondent for the Russian intervention in Syria and the War in Donbas for a short time.

[15][16][17] In 2023, Akim Apachev founded the Russian military music radio station "Arbalet FM," which operates out of Donetsk, Ukraine.

In April 2023, Apachev wrote a letter to the Russian Ministry of Culture in order to prevent a concert performance by Kazakh rapper Jah Khalib.

"[22] During the 2022 Siege of Mariupol, there were unconfirmed reports of Russian soldiers, specifically Wagner mercenaries, using vehicle-mounted speakers to play Akim Apachev's song "Лето и Арбалеты" in the direction of Ukrainian positions.

[24][25] The deletions only occurred after Google and ByteDance were contacted by reporters from The Sunday Times, who identified several accounts and videos that violated both platforms' terms of service.