2024-10-01 10:58:23
The Ukrainian military recruits and trains secret agents to deploy against the Kremlin authorities in the occupied territories. The range of missions ranges from drawing graffiti in support of Ukraine to assassinations of Russian soldiers, a member of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) revealed details to the Hromadske newspaper.
“We do it like the Mossad. We have sources in Putin’s offices,” claimed in 2023 the head of Ukrainian military spies, Kyrylo Budanov. | Video: Reuters
“My task is to prepare members of the resistance movement for reconnaissance, sabotage, subversive activities and partisan activities in Russian-occupied territories,” said soldier Saša in an interview with Hromadske, according to which one of the main goals of the SSO is to increase the level of people’s dissatisfaction with the occupation authorities.
According to Sasha, each agent is trained for specific tasks, which can include anything from painting pro-Ukrainian graffiti and distributing leaflets to blowing up bridges and assassinating Russian soldiers. “Vigilance and stealth are the most important things for our people. Our operatives can only rely on themselves in the occupied territory – that’s why we have to teach them how to avoid danger,” explained a member of the Ukrainian special operations forces.
Special Operations Forces
The SSO is believed to be behind the most sophisticated Ukrainian military operations conducted in Russian-controlled territories, particularly Crimea. Special forces are also responsible for information and psychological military operations and for organizing resistance in the territories occupied by Russia, Reuters wrote.
Source: ČTK
Saša and his colleagues search for “confidants” through various channels and subject the candidates to a strict screening process. They favor the inhabitants of occupied territories or areas that may soon fall under them.
According to Saša, candidates who pass the selection process undergo personal training as well as remote training, with the former also taking place outside the territories occupied by Russia. No one, including the agent’s family, may learn of his activities unless two relatives work together for the SSO.
“Sometimes, in order to fulfill a mission, a person has to join the occupation authorities. For example, he can work in a local occupation administration or run a pro-Russian website. In these cases, we prepare a person for his double life, knowing that he will have to praise Russia and Putin on Russian television,” says Sasha.
If the agent loses his temper or faces imminent danger, the Ukrainian army will evacuate him along with his family. The agency develops an evacuation plan immediately for each new member who starts working with it. In some cases, it is said, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) does not even know that it has caught one of the agents. This happens when the aggressor enters the newly occupied Ukrainian territory and arrests everyone indiscriminately.
“Yes, there are cases when our agents die at the hands of the FSB. But war is war – it’s not child’s play for spies,” concludes Sasha, a member of the special operations forces, for the Ukrainian newspaper Hromadske.
“Extremely dangerous. Analyst Bříza said where the Ukrainians have a Russian mole. (Full article with video here)
The plan of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky to attack the Russian Kursk region surprised not only the Russians, but also the Ukrainians. | Video: A gift for Putin