Ukraine's special ops soldiers are getting into more 'mischief' behind Russian lines
This deadlock, however, has created new opportunities for Ukraine's elite soldiers to stir up trouble behind the lines, an American instructor with the 4th Ranger Regiment of Kyiv's Special Operations Forces told Business Insider.
The American, who could be identified only by his call sign, Scooter, for security reasons, said that in this situation, Ukraine's special operators are increasingly being trained on how "to get through the enemy line and go cause mischief."
Speaking to BI via video chat from an undisclosed location in central Ukraine, Scooter said that the Ukrainian soldiers are being encouraged to "go ambush logistics personnel, go destroy equipment, go steal something expensive. Go behind the enemy line, do something to them that's going to help us and hurt them, and then come back."
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the early stages of the conflict featured a style of maneuver warfare, with rolling gun battles in the cities, tank columns pushing forward, mechanized infantry assaults, and armored vehicles fighting in open fields.
The conflict, however, eventually transitioned to a war of attrition, with a largely static front line sprawling for hundreds of miles. Russia and Ukraine have launched occasional offensives and large assaults, but significant breakthroughs have been few and far between.
Scooter said in 2022, Ukrainian special operators were sent on missions such as ambushing a convoy of Russian ammunition trucks, blowing up tanks, or attacking a command post. But "now, just due to the nature of the war, the way the situation has changed, often, you're not getting missions like that."
Scooter explained that small teams of special operators are taught to sneak just a few kilometers across enemy lines and "go cause problems" for the Russians. The rule is: "don't get caught."
This isn't about clearing out a trench system, killing everyone inside, and taking a position. "You're going over there to make sure he's hungry — make sure he doesn't have ammo," Scooter said. "Make sure his ride, when it's his turn to rotate off position, doesn't show up. Go place land mines. Go sabotage equipment. Take prisoners."
'We're training them for an attrition war'
Ukraine's special operators have been doing these types of sabotage missions since the full-scale war started, Scooter said. The difference is that they are more of a focus now than they were before.
Such missions have only become more challenging, though, amid the proliferation of drones flying over the battlefield. Scooter said the sky is filled with "flying security cameras."
The 4th Ranger Regiment is taught to sneak past Russian patrols and even learn basic Russian phrases. They're trained to be quick, because it's dangerous to hang around the enemy's first line — where troops are most alert — for too long.
Soldiers also receive personal combative training — practical, real-world fighting techniques — in case they find themselves in a close-quarters fight that requires hand-to-hand combat.
Scooter said the effects of the sabotage missions are felt at a tactical level. The Ukrainian infantrymen, or foot soldiers, are tasked with killing the Russians at the front — special operators are dealing with what's going on behind the front lines. It's one way that the Ukrainians have adapted to the changing nature of the grinding war.
"We're not focusing as much on maneuver warfare tactics. We're training them for an attrition war," Scooter said. "You hear this all the time: World War I — with drones. We're training them for a static war of attrition with lines that very seldom move in any significant manner."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
a few seconds ago
- CNN
Witkoff heads to Russia as Trump's sanctions threat looms
President Donald Trump's trusted foreign envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Moscow on Wednesday after the Kremlin requested a meeting with him in a last-ditch effort to avoid the punishing new sanctions Trump has threatened to impose this week, people familiar with the matter said. He's set to meet Russian officials — including potential talks with President Vladimir Putin — amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. Whether Putin can convince Witkoff — and, by extension, Trump — that he is interested in ending the war is an open question. Trump has cast doubt on Putin's willingness to stop the fighting and appears wary of being strung along by a leader he now openly distrusts. Putin, meanwhile, has maintained his maximalist ambitions for the conflict, including capturing the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and insisting Ukraine limit the size of its military. Trump said a day ahead of Witkoff's meeting he would wait until the talks conclude to decide whether to impose the new sanctions. 'We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens,' he said at the White House. 'We'll make that determination at that time.' When Witkoff lands in Moscow, the environment will be far different than the last time he sat down with Putin in April — with Trump's frustration toward his Russian counterpart mounting in recent months. Since the April meeting, Russia has resisted US-led efforts to broker a peace in Ukraine, ramping up an onslaught of missiles and drones that have targeted Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. A day ahead of Witkoff's visit, Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss potential sanctions on Moscow, according to people familiar with the conversation. In a readout of the meeting posted on social media, Zelensky said those sanctions could 'change a lot' when it comes to the Russian economy. Zelensky also said they discussed the increase of American weapons support to Ukraine, paid for by NATO allies, a policy Trump green-lit last month. The US president has grown increasingly impatient at Russia's resistance to his peace efforts, calling the air attacks 'disgusting' and accusing Putin of peddling 'bullsh*t' in their tense phone conversations. He has set a Friday deadline for Russia to either agree to a peace deal or suffer new sanctions, including on its own economy and on purchasers of its energy products. Trump truncated his original 50-day timeline after seeing little movement from Russia. Yet he has also cast doubt that any new sanctions will prove effective after Moscow found ways to skirt the heaps of western measures applied since the war began. 'There'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions,' Trump said Sunday. 'You know, they're wily characters, and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions. So we'll see what happens.' Trump also announced late last week that he was ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines in an effort to be 'prepared' – a response to inflammatory remarks by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and current deputy chairman of its security council. But even Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after those comments that Medvedev was not a relevant player and explained that his remarks were unlikely to 'be a factor one way or another.' Some Europeans officials viewed Trump's announcement as a possible effort to highlight US nuclear capabilities in preparation for Witkoff's visit, two sources told CNN. It remains unclear if the US actually repositioned any of its nuclear submarines. Trump has threatened two distinct types of measures should Moscow not reach Friday's deadline for peace. He has said he'll apply new sanctions on Russian imports to the US, which would have minimal impact given the near-stoppage in trade between the two countries since the start of the war. Trump has also promised 'secondary tariffs' on countries that import Russian energy — which would include China and India, the country's largest energy customers. That could potentially do more to cut off funding for Russia's war machine. 'Is August 8 an actual deadline or part of Trump's approach, which often involves manufacturing leverage points, and then determining how to use them?' said one US official. 'It is not real until Trump decides it is, which is based on a number of unidentified variables.' There have been active efforts to draw up those possible secondary sanctions in recent weeks, US officials said, adding that they believe that Trump's frustration with Putin is so intense that he might green light those measures. But Trump is also likely to back down if Russia makes a substantive offer, sources said. 'These are gut feelings for him,' said one source close to the White House. 'It depends how he can sell it to his base.' The US and its western allies have taken numerous steps to try stifling Moscow's energy revenues, including applying a price cap on Russian crude. But so far, it hasn't caused Putin to change course. And Russia has been able to evade some of the measures on its energy products by using a 'shadow fleet' of tankers, whose ownership is hidden, to sell to China and India. Trump said that could change if the price of Russian oil drops significantly. 'Putin will stop killing people if you get energy down another $10 a barrel. He's going to have no choice because his economy stinks,' the president said in a Tuesday telephone interview on CNBC. Russia's economy has seen recent signs of weakness, including rampant inflation and higher food costs, as the weight of the three-and-a-half year war begins to take more of an effect. Trump has already said he'll apply a substantial tariff hike on India for its Russian energy purchases as he simultaneously works to extract concessions from New Delhi on a trade deal. 'They're fueling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy,' Trump told CNBC. India has argued its Russian energy purchases have stabilized the global oil market. It's less clear how intent Trump is on applying new measures on China for its Russian energy purchases. He remains on the hunt for a comprehensive trade agreement with Beijing, and US officials have described making significant progress in recent talks with their Chinese counterparts. Still, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent directly told his Chinese counterparts during trade talks in Stockholm last month that they should be ready for sanctions if they continue to buy Russian oil. Putin and China's President Xi Jinping have also deepened their relationship in recent years, and Chinese support for Russia's war efforts extends well beyond energy purchases. China has provided Russia with components for its weapons and drones used to attack Ukraine. Putin and Xi are expected to meet in Beijing at the start of September around a commemoration ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In recent months, Witkoff played a less active role in the Ukraine war talks due to Russia's refusal to take substantial steps to drive an end to the conflict. During that time, Trump and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg maintained regular communications with the Ukrainians, with Kellogg visiting Kyiv last month. Trump also began to change his tone on Ukraine, saying it needs the ability to defend itself. But with Witkoff visiting Russia again for the first time in months, there is a renewed spotlight on his role. Earlier this year, there were concerns among US officials and Russia experts about the real estate developer's diplomatic inexperience, particularly after he went into multiple early meetings with Putin without a US translator by his side. After his last meeting with Putin, Witkoff predicted the Russian leader 'sees the opportunity for the first time in decades' to recalibrate the US-Russia relationship — though months later the war is ongoing and US-Russia relations have not improved. Still, even as talks with Russia took a backseat in recent months, Witkoff stayed engaged on Gaza talks and Iran talks, maintaining an active role in Trump's inner circle.
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
Up on the Roof, Trump Surveys the Home He's Making His Own
President Trump was on the roof. As a confused group of reporters assembled below him on Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump strolled around on top of the White House, stopping somewhere above the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room — now only occasionally a venue for taking questions — to tell his audience that he was 'taking a little walk' in service of his latest home improvement project: a large ballroom. 'It's just another way to spend my money for the country,' Mr. Trump shouted. He was getting a bird's-eye view of where the $200 million White House ballroom he has proposed building would go, according to the White House. The president ignored follow-up questions — one reporter shouted 'WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?' after the president appeared to be making a circular gesture with his arms and hands and saying 'something beautiful.' Mr. Trump did not answer before continuing a 20-minute walkabout that included standing on the roof near the Oval Office to survey the newly paved Rose Garden. What looked like a casual stroll was actually a heavily secured appearance: The area around the building was locked down and Secret Service agents, including members of the agency's counter-sniper team, accompanied Mr. Trump on his walk. The construction of a ballroom is not the most pressing issue facing Mr. Trump or his fellow Republicans, but it's a pretty good distraction. (Several conservative lawmakers are spending their August recesses either avoiding constituents in their districts or getting screamed at over the economically damaging details of domestic policy legislation that Mr. Trump pressured Republicans to ram through Congress.) It appears that Mr. Trump's respite from the tumult — some of which he has wrought — is to ensconce himself in a White House that is rapidly changing from the taxpayer-funded people's house to one that resembles one of the Louis XIV-inspired properties in his portfolio. On social media, Mr. Trump has referred to these as ''fun' projects I do while thinking about the World Economy, the United States, China, Russia, and lots of other Countries, places, and events.' In that vein, Mr. Trump, a creature of habit, has occupied himself by festooning the Oval Office with golden embellishments, urns, baskets and coasters embossed with his last name. He has planted large American flags on the lawn. During Mr. Trump's first term, he spent quite a bit of time at the Trump International Hotel, holding court for family members, prominent conservatives and journalists. But now, with the hotel closed, he appears to be using the White House for a similar purpose. Mr. Trump remains a homebody with a deep distrust of situations he does not control. Lately, he has turned his attention away from holding rallies or public events to gin up political support and toward the altering of a White House complex he has in turns complimented as grand and maligned as outdated. Visitors are still allowed on tours, and there is no mistaking who lives upstairs. He has overseen the paving over of the Rose Garden, a historic presidential venue that Melania Trump, the first lady, had once revamped with the help of historians, architects and designers. At her direction, they replanted roses, removed several problematic crab apple trees that had bedeviled designers since the Reagan administration and installed a limestone walkway. In 2020, Mrs. Trump also oversaw the installation of the first piece of art from an Asian American artist to be included in the White House collection. That statue is no longer in the Rose Garden. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to not disclose internal plans, said that the piece was being polished. But the official did not know when or if it would be returned to the newly paved garden. On Tuesday, the East Wing did not respond to a request for comment about whether the first lady supported the changes to a project that took a year and a half to design and revamp, and just days to partially pave over. Other questions, including one about what would become of a suite of East Wing offices that appear to be in the way of the proposed ballroom, were forwarded to the West Wing. The residence, too, has long been Mr. Trump's domain. When he first moved into the White House in 2017, he overruled the décor choices of Mrs. Trump in favor of several gilded pieces in a permanent White House collection. And most recently, there is the ballroom, the rendering of which has a distinct resemblance to the event space at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, his gilded fortress in Palm Beach. The Mar-a-Lago ballroom has long been a space for fund-raisers, dinners and weddings, and its patio is where Mr. Trump enjoys a round of applause before taking his seat at dinner. The people who assemble there have paid for the privilege of an event where Mr. Trump appears as either the de facto maître d' or the centerpiece the party revolves around. In the Trump White House, people who have given money to the president's cryptocurrency business have been invited for dinner. Questions about who is funding the ballroom, however, are mostly unanswered. White House officials said the president and 'other patriot donors' would pay for the renovations, but declined to give details. Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, said the donor funding plan was 'highly unusual.' 'There is certainly a risk that donors to this project, which Donald Trump has made clear is important to him, could see it as a way to curry favor with the administration,' he said. During his walkabout on Tuesday, Mr. Trump seemed to say he would be paying for the 90,000-square-foot project, which is almost twice the size of the White House residence. 'Anything I do is financed by me; in other words, contributed,' Mr. Trump told reporters. 'Just like my salary is contributed. But nobody ever mentions that.' And now, a quick fact check: Mr. Trump's first-term White House announced that he partially donated his salary to agencies, including the Department of Education. But his donations declined over the course of his first term, and he reported no charitable giving in 2020, according to his tax returns. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about how he planned to donate his salary this year. Maggie Haberman and Doug Mills contributed reporting.
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
Bolsonaro House Arrest Casts Shadow Over Brazil-U.S. Trade Talks
When President Trump imposed eye-watering tariffs on Brazil to help Jair Bolsonaro, a political ally, Latin America's largest nation kept a cool head and bet on old-school diplomacy. But on Monday night, that approach was imperiled when the Brazilian Supreme Court justice overseeing Mr. Bolsonaro's case, Alexandre de Moraes, ordered his house arrest and barred him from using a cellphone. The United States quickly condemned Justice Moraes's decision. The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs posted a scathing message on X: 'Let Bolsonaro speak!' It also accused Justice Moraes of using 'Brazil's institutions to silence opposition and threaten democracy.' The escalation in tensions over Mr. Bolsonaro's case risks deepening the biggest diplomatic crisis to emerge in decades between the Western Hemisphere's two most populous nations. It also threatens to derail trade negotiations just before 50 percent tariffs are set to go into effect this week, which would make many Brazilian products more expensive for American consumers. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil had made clear that Mr. Trump could not meddle in the case of Mr. Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president who is accused of trying to stage a coup. Mr. Lula said he just wanted to talk trade. 'Brazil is eager to negotiate on trade,' said Thomas Traumann, a political analyst and former press secretary for Dilma Rousseff., a leftist former Brazilian president. 'And, obviously, any decision from Alexandre de Moraes just makes it so much more difficult.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
