Placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate in February 1942, Buslayev was appointed deputy commander of the 7th Rifle Division, forming in the Ural Military District. On 4 May he was relieved of this position and appointed commander of the 6th Destroyer Brigade, equipped with anti-tank guns, in the district. Later that month, the brigade joined the 1st Destroyer Division, forming in the Moscow Military District. In July the division was sent to the Voronezh Front, fighting in the Battle of Voronezh as part of the 6th Army. In the advance of the front on Belgorod, the brigade participated in the recapture of Novy Oskol on 28 January 1943, and then the recapture of Kharkov in Operation Star on 16 February before fighting in the Third Battle of Kharkov in March. For his leadership of the brigade, Buslayev was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, on 22 June.