A Russian soldier helped Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) conduct special operation “Prapor” [Flag] to extract two Ukrainian paratroopers from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
Last summer, the Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Navy received information about two Ukrainian paratroopers born in 1993 and 1997, who were seriously wounded at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion and ended up in the occupied territory, in a town in Luhansk region, where they were treated.
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On Sept. 28, 2023, the paratroopers were successfully evacuated to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
During a press conference on May 10, a HUR representative, Andriy Yusov, said that an important participant in this special operation was a Russian army service member who has now become a pro-Ukrainian fighter with the Legion of Freedom of Russia.
To rescue the paratroopers, HUR combined two special operations
Dmytro, a Russian Army soldier who was mobilized in April 2023, applied to the I Want to Live project.
After that, two special operations missions merged into one: “the return of the Armed Forces guys and Dmytro’s transfer to the side of truth,” Yusov said.
According to Yusov, it took two months to organize this multi-level operation, and the rest of the time was spent on ensuring the safety of all participants.
Yusov said documents were made for Dmytro that allowed him to leave the occupied territory.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December, 20, 2024
In addition, the defecting Russian soldier hijacked a car in which they all managed to drive through 18 checkpoints together, disguised in Russian army uniforms.
Previously, HUR couldn’t reveal details about the success of this special operation for security reasons.
Now the agency can disclose that the Russian soldier’s family is in a Ukrainian-controlled area, while the AFU paratroopers, “Chopa” and “Malyi,” continue to serve in the Air Assault Forces.
HUR regularly conducts various special operations behind enemy lines, usually aimed at destroying Russian equipment, ships, and aircraft.
However, HUR is working not only to destroy Russian equipment but is also conducting information operations with Russian soldiers. This year Ukraine launched an information service to search for captured Russians.
In early May, the HUR Group 13 unit destroyed a Russian high-speed patrol boat, in Project 12150 Mongoose, using a Magura V5 maritime strike drone.
In April, HUR drones attacked a 29B6 Container two-coordinate over-the-horizon radar with a detection range of about 3,000 km and a detection height of more than 100 km. The distance from the Ukrainian border to the target was about 680 km.
Also, on April 19 this year, the Defense and Security Forces shot down a TU-22M3 long-range strategic bomber for the first time in another HUR special operation success.
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