Soldiers from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence spent a day at sea on an inflatable boat after raising the Ukrainian flag on Zmeinoye.
The Russian command withdrew its troops from the island on June 30, 2022, calling it a gesture of goodwill. And in July, Ukrainian military intelligence received an order to check whether the occupiers had left the island. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing officers from the Ukrainian intelligence special forces unit “Timur” who participated in the special operation.
In case they were captured or taken to Romanian waters, the GUR soldiers disguised themselves as tourists, wearing shorts and Hawaiian shirts.
It is noted that radio interception showed that the Russian special forces unit was still present on Zmeiny, but it did not open fire and later evacuated.
WSJ writes that after this, the GUR men went to the island to return it to Ukrainian control. While they were on land, the weather worsened. On the way back to the mainland, the waves damaged two of the boat’s engines.
The scouts had to transfer to an inflatable boat without a motor, and only oars were available. The current carried it out to the open sea towards the so-called “Boyko towers”, which were then still controlled by the occupiers.
The fighters were forced to exhaust the water pouring into the boat through the sides all night long. And to prevent it from deflating, they actively used a pump.
The special forces later managed to contact their commander by radio, who sent a helicopter to search for the fighters. The pilot saw them when they launched a flare.
Let us recall that on September 20, the State National Security Service of Ukraine published a video showing what Zmeiny Island in the Black Sea looks like now. The footage showed the aftermath of the fighting that was waged with the Russian occupiers for control of the island, as well as the place from which the famous message to the “Russian warship” was proclaimed in 2022.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.