And assessed the threat to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
On the Internet you can find a lot of video evidence of the work of Russian special operations forces (SSO) units in the zone of a special military operation. Special forces units penetrate deep behind enemy lines, masterfully cope with assigned tasks and leave unnoticed. Scouts can even do things that are difficult for formidable modern weapons to handle, for example, destroy bridge supports, which is difficult to do with missiles and bombs.
Military expert, former special forces officer Anatoly Matviychuk, in a conversation with MK, told what tasks Russian special operations forces are facing in Ukraine and how serious a threat they pose to the enemy.
Photo: Global Look Press
Not long ago, unique footage of the work of our special forces was published on the Internet — the blowing up of a bridge across the Sudost River in the Sumy region. It is reported that it had previously been attacked by aircraft, but the bridge survived. After which it was decided to send special forces soldiers to destroy it, who coped with the task. This is just one confirmation that our special forces in the Sumy region feel very free.
“There are quite a few targets that are quite difficult to hit with artillery or missiles,” explains Anatoly Matviychuk. — Special forces exist to eliminate them. And also for the implementation of other tasks that are difficult to accomplish with other means of destruction.
The guys enter unnoticed, do everything necessary and also quietly leave the work area. Specialists, as a rule, work in a non-advertising manner, and most importantly, quietly, which is why they achieve excellent results. You and I don’t even know about a thousandth of the operations that our special forces have already carried out in territories controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, since they are all closed. And it is right. There is no need to show everyone where and how we work.
According to the former intelligence officer, special operations forces are, in general, a very interesting and multidisciplinary organization. It is intended for conducting sabotage and counter-sabotage actions, conducting partisan and counter-guerrilla operations, conducting reconnaissance and performing other specific tasks that cannot be performed by other branches of the military.
— If we talk about the territory of Ukraine, where Is it easier for our special forces to work in urban areas or in uncrowded areas?
— Ukraine, strictly speaking, is not much different from Russia in terms of relief and character of the area. Therefore, the entire territory of Ukraine is an accessible zone for our special forces. The only difficulty that our military may have is the issue of interaction with the local population. Moreover, if it is still possible to achieve mutual understanding with older people, then with young people it is very, very problematic. Of course, in most cases, special forces work secretly, but there are situations when it is necessary to contact the locals.
Talking about the work of special forces, Matviychuk clarifies that the number of personnel going on a mission can vary from a couple to a whole detachment. Depending on the task being performed, the composition of the group is constantly changing. They also enter the place of “work” in various ways.
“There are several ways,” the expert continues. — On foot, if the group advances over a relatively short distance, on specialized armored vehicles, specialized motor vehicles, various types of motorcycles and ATVs. There is also the option of special delivery of the group by helicopter with assault landing in certain areas, as well as by parachute.
It all depends on the removal and the nature of the tasks being performed. Special forces are very high-level professionals; they must have skills that are many times superior to ordinary military personnel. Their training includes the skills of collective use of all available weapons that can be in a group — from light vehicles to various heavy weapons, such as mortars or recoilless rifles.
The group must have established elements of mutual assistance to each other, interchangeability . Soldiers need first aid skills. They must be able to use communications, navigation and all sorts of newfangled devices — gadgets that appeared during the special operation.
To assess how serious a threat Russian special forces pose to Ukraine, we can recall the experience of the war in Afghanistan. There, in order to neutralize a dozen of our specialists, the Mujahideen detachments needed to use at least fifty to sixty specialized trained soldiers. I think that this ratio has remained in the NWO zone.