347 days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the situation at the front is becoming increasingly difficult for Kyiv’s troops, who are trying to hold on to Bakhmut, a city for which Moscow is throwing everything into battle. At the same time, the saboteurs claim that they are attacking the Kremlin with the help of the Russian people themselves, although they do not officially exist.

The “Brotherhood” battalion, a group of Ukrainian special forces volunteers, took the battle for the front line in Ukraine deep into Russia, writes The Guardian, who spoke with Taras (23 years old), Vladyslav (21 years old) and their commander Oleksii (39 years old) in Kyiv, after return from the mission, which the Ukrainian government refused.

Members of the Frația battalion, as it is translated into Romanian, will be involved in the kidnapping of high-ranking Kremlin officials, the destruction of key military infrastructure facilities and the shooting down of enemy aircraft on Russian territory.

“Brotherhood” volunteers have a special status, being technically independent from the Ukrainian army, but acting side by side with the official forces.

Commander Oleksiy says that civilians are mainly recruited into the battalion or excellent students are taken from other volunteer battalions. He says he understands why their missions should be separate from the official Ukrainian military and intelligence services.

Why doesn’t Kyiv talk about the invisible

It boils down to Western nervousness at the thought that Ukraine could deliver deep strikes against Russia, as evidenced by the long-running debate over Germany’s supply of Leopard 2 tanks and the refusal of the US and other countries to supply F16 fighter jets.

Much of this anxiety in the West is probably related to the Kremlin’s threat to use nuclear weapons if “the very existence of the state is threatened.”

However, the “Brotherhood” volunteers were not scared and insist that Putin should feel at ease in his own territory.

“It’s very easy for us to cross the Russian border,” the youngest of the three Vladyslav says with a smile.

Taras says he returned two weeks ago after what he says was a simple operation.

“Our group was supposed to bring a certain amount of explosives to the territory of Russia and leave them in a certain place,” he says. “I don’t know what this explosive was intended for and who it was for. But I know for sure that some people in Russia are ready to help Ukrainians.” “.

But six weeks ago, he would complete his most successful mission.

The target is a helicopter with Russian officials

“I was assigned the task of destroying a Russian helicopter in which high-ranking officials of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs were aboard,” says Taras.

“On the first attempt, bad weather prevented the laser sight from accurately targeting the target. In addition, we had internal problems in the group, controversial discussions, so we entered the territory of Russia, but returned, took into account our mistakes … and a week later made another attempt.”

The five-man task force left at seven in the morning, easily crossing forests and fields to cross into Russia.

“Then we spent the night at this place, and at 9 in the morning I heard a helicopter. I had a small reconnaissance drone with me and I had confirmation that it was the same helicopter.”

“We fired at the helicopter from a portable anti-aircraft missile complex from a distance of 4 km. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the shot as I was far away, but I heard the explosion. Then we quickly ran away from our positions,” Taras said.

Regardless of whether the Kremlin officials from the helicopter were killed or not, for Taras it was a successful mission, because the battalion achieved its goal: the war was at Putin’s home.

“We showed that we can get into Russian territory, and we showed the Russians that Ukrainians can act,” says the 23-year-old.

Members of the battalion explained that it is very demoralizing for the Russians that Ukrainian saboteurs can shoot their commanders, and their mission forces them to mobilize troops to find them.

How Ukrainian saboteurs cross the border

The last operation in Russia, in which the middle man of the group, Vladyslav, took part, took place a month ago near the Russian city of Belgorod, where several ammunition depots recently exploded.

Small task forces, often consisting of only four or five people, work out safe routes to Russia by analyzing animal tracks or with the help of tips from pre-war smugglers.

Vladyslav and his associates were tasked with “capturing or killing one of the high-ranking officers of the FSB of Russia.”

“He worked near the border with Ukraine, but on the territory of Russia,” says Vladyslav. “We had the route of this Russian officer’s car and decided to set up an ambush.”

But the FSB officer never showed up, and they had to return to Ukraine, but when they tried to leave Russian territory, they were surprised by the forces that Putin had sent to the border.

They managed to kill three Russian border guards and easily wound another one, whom they took into Ukrainian captivity, and a member of the sabotage group was wounded in the hand.

The first bloody day of Christmas

But not always everything goes according to plan. On Christmas Day, four of their colleagues, aged 19 to 39, were killed 12.5 km away in Russia’s Bryansk region, in northeastern Ukraine.

Oleksiy learned the tragic news about the “best fighters” of the “Fratia” battalion when he saw photos of dead comrades lying in the snow on Russian Telegram channels on December 26.

The Kremlin-controlled RIA Novosti agency reported that the men were carrying “SIG Sauer submachine guns, communication and navigation equipment and four bombs weighing a total of approximately 40 kg.”

According to the FSB, they were determined to commit “sabotage and terrorist acts.”

How they died remains unclear, and their bodies have not been found.

“We don’t know the details, but we assume that they mistakenly entered Russia’s second line of defense. And the Russians laid mines in front of them,” Oleksiy said

Because of their unofficial status, their stories could not be independently verified, but they are compelling and credible, The Guardian notes.

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