Inside Ukraine shadow warriors' daring missions within sights of Russian guns

Ukraine’s special forces are carrying out missions deep behind Russian lines ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

Stalking Russian targets in the dark and operating deep behind enemy lines, a secretive Ukrainian special forces unit is at the tip of Kyiv’s spear.

Perilously exposed to Russian firepower on land and open water, the elite soldiers in the 73rd Naval Centre of Operations are under no illusions about the ‘difficult and dangerous’ missions they undertake.

Operating in small groups on the frontline and within occupied ground, they act ‘quickly and unexpectedly’ against an enemy with vastly superior resources.

Snipers have hunted Russian targets at night on the left bank of the heavily contested Dnipro River while rigid inflatable boats are used for rapid assaults.

A commander gave an insight into the daring missions undertaken by the elite Special Operations Forces (SOF) formation, comparable to the US Navy Seals or UK Special Boat Service (SBS).

Lt Col Oleksandr Kindratenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s SOF, also warned that for all their bravery, the operators urgently need the West to supply modern weapons to ‘preserve’ their lives in the face of an enemy with ‘unlimited financial and human resources’.

He gave Metro.co.uk an insight into the 73rd’s highly dangerous work and of the overall SOF role since the outset of the full-scale Russian invasion.

‘Operations on water are particularly difficult and dangerous, because operators move on a boat in an open space and are constantly in the zone of a potential enemy strike,’ Lt Col Kindratenko said.

‘This requires special skills from the operators to perform manoeuvres and conduct combat missions.

‘But the SOF warriors continue to bravely carry out the most difficult missions.’

Operators in the 73rd Naval Centre have been at the tip of Ukraine’s spear ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

Unique within Ukraine’s special forces, the southern-based 73rd operates on land and water, both on the frontline and deep behind enemy lines.

Trained and equipped in part by Western forces, said to include the SBS, the marine commandos use kit including small boats, night vision, high explosives and military diving equipment.

One of the operators, speaking under the callsign ‘Frog’, has described carrying out water operations, which include spending long periods in bitterly cold water equipped in scuba gear.

‘There were tasks when I thought it was the end,’ he said.

‘So you have to have balls to do this job.’

But the commando, speaking under anonymity in a video recorded by the 73rd, acknowledged that ‘you have to be able to control your fear’.

Ukraine’s special forces utilise highly mobile small groups equipped with high-tech kit ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

While acknowledging that Ukraine’s Armed Forces have paid a ‘high price’ resisting the all-out invasion, Lt Kindratenko emphasised that the special forces are motivated to liberate all of their homeland’s lawful territory since the outset of Russian military aggression in 2014.

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Losses inflicted on Russian forces are widely considered to be vastly higher, with the UK Ministry of Defence saying the number could reach half a million by 2025 if it continues at the present rate.

Some military commentators view the war as a ‘stalemate’ as Russia uses links with Iran, North Korea and China to launch waves of air and ground attacks.

However, while the grinding conflict continues in the east, the Black Sea to the south, where the 73rd has been highly active, has yielded success for Kyiv’s forces and allowed it to resume grain exports.

‘Yes, Ukraine is paying a high price for its independence – it is the lives of our defenders who are fighting against the Russian occupiers,’ the commander said.

‘However, we have a powerful motivation – the protection and preservation of the Ukrainian nation, which, without exaggeration, was under threat of destruction.

‘We also aim to return to Ukrainian control all the territories which were occupied by Russia in 2014 and then in 2022. However difficult it may seem, the SOF operators continue to perform combat missions and will do so until they achieve a complete victory over the enemy.’

Ukrainian operators stand in front of destroyed Russian military vehicles ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

Core special forces work includes ground and aerial reconnaissance and special operations on the front and behind Russian lines, aimed at destroying the enemy’s combat, logistical and strategic potential. Missions in enemy territory involve ‘painstaking calculations’, the commander said.

The ‘warriors’ were among the first to enter liberated Kherson in November 2022 and, along with other elements of the Defence Forces, have established a foothold on the city’s left bank of the Dnipro River.

Lt Kindratenko told Metro.co.uk the elite troops have taken part in a number of significant operations alongside other components of Kyiv’s military.

‘Ukrainian SOF operators are some of the most hardened and well-trained soldiers of the Ukrainian Defence Forces for complex specific missions,’ he said.

‘During the Russian full-scale invasion SOF operators are involved in strengthening the Defence Forces of Ukraine, in particular, during counter-offensive operations.

‘To conduct missions in enemy territory is to act in small groups, quickly and unexpectedly for the enemy, without drawing undue attention.

‘Each of our operations is preceded by a long preparation and painstaking calculation of details.

‘Numerous successfully conducted special operations testify to the high professionalism of Ukrainian SOF operators.’

Ukraine’s marine commandos have been active in the Black Sea region ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

The spokesperson gave a roll call of some of the most heavy fighting and audacious strikes involving the country’s special forces since Vladimir Putin launched the all-out attack in February 2022.

He listed the liberation of Snake Island, the battles for Bakhmut and Soledar in Donetsk and the counter-attacks to repel the invaders from Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy and then the Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

The commander also highlighted the destruction of enemy airfields in occupied Berdyansk and Luhansk and the missile strikes on New Year’s Eve 2022. The latter destroyed a Russian army barracks in occupied Makiivka in the Donetsk region, with Kyiv putting the death toll at 400 enemy troops.

Lt Col Kindratenko also said that the SOF had been involved in the strike on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea which hit the Minsk landing ship and the £250 million Rostov-on-Don submarine.

‘This is a small part of the operations that can already be talked about in general,’ he said.

‘Most of the missions which were carried out are still classified and cannot be made public.

‘However, we assure you that the Ukrainian SOF operate in all operational directions, both on the frontline and behind enemy lines.’

Ukraine’s special forces soldiers are motivated but in need of Western backing ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

In July, Metro.co.uk reported on the inside story of how Ukrainian forces liberated Snake Island within range of Russia’s Black Sea firepower.

Commandos from the 73rd were part a task force that reclaimed the rocky outcrop, which lies around 30 miles off Ukraine’s southern coast.

The mission is said to have been carried out with training from SBS forces who flew to Ukraine to show the operators how to use underwater vehicles called Driver Propulsion Devices.

‘We are grateful to our foreign partners and greatly appreciate the assistance they have provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion,’ Lt Col Kindratenko said.

‘Without this, in particular without the supply of weapons, it would be difficult for us to resist the Russian offensive. Ukrainians are highly motivated to fight against the Russian murderers.

‘But unfortunately motivation alone is not enough.

‘We are facing a powerful enemy who has unlimited financial and human resources.

‘Unlike Russia, Ukraine values each of its citizens on the front line. Based on our experience of waging war, which, without exaggeration, is unique in 21st Century Europe, we can say that the more weapons we have, the fewer human losses we sustain.’

An elite Ukrainian soldier stands on a shoreline ((Picture: Special Operations Forces of Ukraine/Facebook/NavalSOFCenter))

Heavy fighting continued in the east this week as Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the need for urgent Western support to Ukraine and the rest of Europe. Echoing the president’s remarks, Lt Col Kindratenko warned that nothing less than the security of the free world is at stake.

‘Delays in the delivery of weapons or long negotiations regarding the delivery of new modern weapons are time that Russia uses to enhance and strengthen its position,’ he said.

‘We cannot give the enemy such a chance, because this is not only a question of the survival of Ukraine, but also of the security of Europe and the civilized world as a whole.

‘Special operations forces, as a component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, are also becoming more technological and need more modern weapons to wage war and preserve the lives of our brave warriors.’

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