27/06/2022
âShamanâ special forces take the fight across the border into RussiaâŚ
Rotor blades clattered in the night sky as the helicopters streaked low over the Russian border. On board, the men of the Shaman battalion, an elite Ukrainian special forces unit, prepared to disembark deep behind enemy lines.
Their mission, to destroy infrastructure vital to the Kremlinâs war effort, was one of several covert raids inside Russia, The Times has been told by two of the operators who took part and an intelligence officer; the first time Ukrainian special forces have acknowledged taking the fight into Russian territory.
The exact targets are classified but the teamsâ forays across the border help to explain how Russian oil refineries, ammunition depots and communications networks have been mysteriously sabotaged.
Sergeants âHandsomeâ and âTwenty Twoâ, both aged 25, have been fighting President Putinâs forces since his hybrid invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Intelligent, articulate and in peak physical condition, they were selected for the special forces after years of combat in regular units.
âThe most interesting missions are working behind enemy lines; planting explosives behind the front lines, beyond the border,â said Twenty Two, detailing a plan to sow confusion and dissent among the enemy that he asked The Times not to disclose in full.
Handsome added: âThe Russians donât know what happened, they often canât believe we were there.â
Both are members of Shaman battalion, a nickname given to Ukraineâs 10th Special Forces Detachment for its almost otherworldly abilities. It is the assault and reconnaissance arm of Ukrainian military intelligence, and it accepts only those men who pass the most gruelling tests of endurance and survival skills. The unit specialises in diving, parachuting and mountaineering.
It has fought alongside British and American troops in Afghanistan and earned a reputation as the crème de la crème of Ukraineâs special forces. âWe send them to take on the most difficult tasks because theyâre the best and the bravest,â said a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer. âThey are hugely important to the war effort.â
Although the unit was better prepared for Februaryâs invasion than other branches of the countryâs armed forces, it still came as a shock, Handsome said. âEvery day we had been told the invasion would start tomorrow, and then it didnât come,â he said. âWhen it finally started I didnât believe it.â
The men were thrown into battle immediately against their counterparts in the Russian Spetsnaz at Antonov airport in Hostomel, where helicopter-borne paratroopers were attempting to secure an air-supply route to armoured columns advancing on the Ukrainian capital. âWe took positions in the hangars and the barracks, engaging in a four-hour firefight until we needed to rotate with some national guard units,â Handsome said. He described the first hour of the battle as chaos, as the Ukrainian military scrambled to co-ordinate its defence, but their efforts at the airport prevented Russia gaining a vital foothold outside Kyiv.
They then deployed to the village of Moshchun to prevent the enemy crossing the Irpin river, which would have given Putinâs forces a clear run on Kyiv. Three teams cleared the village and dug in to a forest along the river bank, where they waited for the attack. They fell back into the village buildings under heavy shelling as a far larger force backed by two infantry fighting vehicles began crossing the river. Although heavily outnumbered âas alwaysâ, the teams waited until the Russian troops were deep in the centre of the village before ambushing them, engaging in close-quarters combat and striking from both flanks.
âWe were shooting from 5-10 metres away,â said Twenty Two. âWeâre always trying to keep tight, to grab the belt of the enemy, because at that point they canât use their artillery. They have a lot more artillery than us, but their morale is very low, they canât engage in one-on-one combat. Itâs psychologically very difficult to stand in a firefight where youâre using frag gr***des and underslung gr***de launchers.â
After routing the Russian troops and destroying the two armoured vehicles with British-supplied Nlaw anti-tank missiles, Shaman battalion withdrew from the village to regroup. âBy this time it was around 10pm and we had no batteries left for our night vision,â Handsome said. âWe heard that another force of 50 men and another armoured vehicle were moving towards the river.â
Again the Ukrainian teams moved into the village and waited quietly in the dark, listening for the sound of Russian footsteps. âMy friend heard an officer order his troops to move into a tactical line, then they came at us screaming and shouting,â said Handsome. âBut they made a mistake and did the same thing, coming into the centre of the village. So we killed them all too.â
Shaman battalion was involved in every big engagement in the battle for Kyiv, and continued to harass the invasion force as it fled through the Chernobyl exclusion zone back across the Belarusian border.
Special forces have formed the backbone of Ukraineâs defences, often organising freshly mobilised troops who are highly motivated but undertrained and ill-equipped. The operators described having to instruct regular units on taking up the best defensive positions to cover an assault before moving in to lead an attack themselves. âRight now there arenât enough resources to cover all the tasks we need. We have the people but we donât have enough resources to give everyone the right weapons,â said Twenty Two. âThis is a war of artillery and aviation, we need more of both.â
Inexperienced infantry needed to be bolstered by experienced operators in order to hold the line under fierce bombardment, he added. âUntil we have resources, the special forces are coming and organising the war on a section of front line. Weâre taking the communications, the medevacs, going in before the infantry and after the infantry, weâre co-ordinating every element in this area.â
Ukraineâs reliance on its special forces has taken a heavy toll on the units themselves, he said: half of their friends have been killed in recent weeks as the battle for the Donbas region grinds on, with Russia focusing its air power and superior artillery on a small segment of the front line. The unnamed intelligence officer agreed: Ukraineâs casualty rate, far lower than Russiaâs in the first weeks of the war, is now approaching parity with the invading force, he said.
The operators are grateful for western weapons supplies, upgrading their AKMs to FN SCAR-L rifles, among other things, but said the intensity of operations was costing them more equipment than was arriving. They called for faster deliveries of military aid, particularly vehicles, Nlaws and heavy weapons.
The men gave an example of a high-tempo mission behind enemy lines where they had to abandon two vehicles with blown-out tyres because they had no time to change them. âPeople are using anything with wheels, even their own cars,â Twenty Two said. âIâm having to hold my night-vision goggles up to my eyes because the helmet attachment has broken off and I canât find a replacement.â
He was hit by a frag gr***de last Sunday while storming a Russian trench but has left the shrapnel inside his forearm, covered only by a large plaster, rather than pause operations. âWeâre trying to creep up, use stealth to get close. Itâs very difficult, you have a lot of equipment, you need a lot of ammo, itâs very heavy and when youâre trying to crawl, itâs very noisy.
âBut we achieved surprise. The first guy that saw me, he lost himself, he didnât expect us, he was afraid and I just shot him from maybe 7m away, underneath the [ballistic] plate carrier. Youâre always shooting at the balls, there is not enough protection there. Itâs 100 per cent to kill the enemy: youâre destroying his arteries and breaking his pelvis. He cannot escape, he cannot run, he cannot crawl, he cannot do anything. Itâs impossible to give first aid to a man wounded in this area. You canât use a tourniquet or bandage.â
He is unnervingly calm as he describes the best way to kill; the words of a young man who has come of age fighting the Russians and for whom violence has become normalised. âI went to war at 18, I didnât see a different world, I didnât see peace. From the start of my adult life, Iâve seen only this, so I donât have any different picture of life,â Twenty Two said. âYou canât even imagine how many young people, 18 or 19, are signing up now to join the army. They might have one rifle and one magazine but they are going forward, just because itâs needed. It reminds me of us at that age and we realise the next generation is going to grow up with war too. Thatâs Russiaâs fault.â
Before the invasion Twenty Two had begun planning to set up a chain of gyms. Handsome was expecting to go into Ukraineâs blossoming IT industry, build a house and start a family. Now they are focused solely on defending the motherland.
âEverybody has his own motivation. Somebody has a wife, somebody already doesnât have a wife, some people have family in occupied Kherson, or under Russian artillery in Mykolaiv,â Twenty Two said. âMy motivation is to fight to see something different, to see a civilian life. For the next generation to not have to fight a Russian war.â
Itâs a profound statement from one so young. âIâm about to turn 26,â he said. âAt least I hope so.â⌠đşđŚâ ď¸âď¸âď¸đşđŚ
