The 68 th reconnaissance battalion was directly subordinate to the commander of the North grouping Lev Rokhlin. By the way, the “North” group suffered the smallest losses among the personnel, and in many respects it was the merit of not only Rokhlin, talented and respected by the soldiers and officers (they lovingly called him “Batya” among themselves), but also the 68 battalion itself. In the first days of the assault, Captain Shadrin was still the deputy commander of the intelligence battalion, and thanks to his efforts and knowledge the battalion was able to hold its positions in the city during the most difficult first days of the fighting. This could not be overlooked by the command, and on January 10, Shadrin was appointed commander of the 68 battalion and immediately received an order to capture the main post office building held by the militants. The building was of great strategic importance, since by capturing it, it was possible to cut off the militants from the center of Grozny to the outskirts and thereby cut off the supply of ammunition.
Since the Central Post Office was in the rear of the militants, it was a risky decision to go covertly and without cover of armored vehicles. However, Dudayevites still managed to find out about the advancement of the scouts and organize an ambush. Shadrin decided to organize a defense in a nearby school, and this move saved the life of him, as well as his fighters. For more than a day, 30 people fought off the fierce attacks of several hundred militants, and when the ammunition began to run out, Shadrin summoned artillery fire on himself. And this decision also justified itself, and soon the scouts with minimal losses managed to get out of the encirclement and with the support of the armored vehicles of the 276 regiment fulfill the initial goal and take the building of the main post office.
After the main post office was captured, the center of the city and the Dudayev Palace and adjacent buildings of the regional committee and the Kavkaz Hotel located there remained the last line of defense of the militants. On the night of January 17 on 18, the Shadrin battalion made its way to the rear of the militants who were defending the regional committee building and the hotel, and for two days was surrounded by the main forces. With their support, he participated in the storming of the regional committee, and a little later, the Dudayev Palace. In the course of the hostilities, Shadrin was awarded the title “Major”, and by decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1112 of December 1 of 1995, “Major Shadrin Roman Alexandrovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation”. Unlike many other officers, Shadrin did not go to the reserve, but continued to serve in the Russian Army. Shadrin successfully participated in the Second Chechen War, and in 2008 he was the chief of staff of the Russian peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia.