Five audatious inteligence operations carried out by Ukraine in 2023
Ukraine celebrates Military Intelligence Day on Sep. 7 after the country’s President Volodomyr Zelenskyy signed a decree last year to establish the professional holiday.
The date was chosen as it was previously the professional holiday of scouts, dedicated to military personnel working in reconnaissance and intelligence.
The day itself is not a public holiday and is instead focused on commemorating the actions of Ukraine’s special forces and intelligence agencies.
In honor of this day, we’d like to remind our readers about five of the most daring intelligence operations carried out by Ukraine this year amidst it’s fight against Russian occupation.
The raid on occupied Crimea to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day
On August 24, 2023, Ukrainian Independence Day, the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) announced that it had successfully landed troops in occupied Crimea in a raid carried out with the support of the country’s naval forces.
A battle involving aircraft and watercraft took place near the village of Mayak on Cape Tarkhankut around 5 a.m. Russian radar stations and air defense units were the main targets.
The HUR reported that at least 30 Russian military personnel were eliminated, various equipment was destroyed, and a Ukrainian flag had been hoisted over the occupied peninsula.
The head of the HUR, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, said the raid served to remind the Ukrainian people, especially those in occupied land, that they would be liberated.
"There will be a ground operation; there will be a return of our territories. Soon everyone will be ready to return home."
The defection of a Mil Mi-8 helicopter and its pilot
A day before the daring Crimea raid, a Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter flew to Ukraine’s Poltava airfield and surrendered, 300km away from Russia-held territory.
Russian state propaganda immediately sprang into action, claiming the incident occurred due to a navigation error; however, Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov immediately disproved this narrative.
"The helicopter flew at a low altitude at low speed, and the crew could clearly see all ground landmarks. It was simply impossible to make a mistake by 300 km; this would have consumed a lot of fuel. This could not have been an accident," Butusov said.
Reportedly, the pilot agreed to hand over the helicopter to the Ukrainian military in exchange for the safe passage of his family out of Russia and a large cash reward. He apparently eliminated his two crew members, whowere unaware of the plot.
Multiple drone attacks on Moscow
Moscow has come under repeated drone attack over the last several months, and on Aug. 23, the same day as the helicopter incident, a helicopter factory in the city was hit, and flights were delayed at both Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports.
"Strikes on Moscow have occurred that have disrupted the operation of airports, disrupted flights, and evacuated officials and employees of special services from their workplaces, demonstrating Putin's inability to protect even his capital," a HUR spokesman said.
"These noble unknown flying objects are aimed exclusively at those objects and institutions that are directly involved in the genocidal war of Russia against Ukraine."
On the night of August 18, explosions rang out in the suburbs of Moscow and the capital of Russia. Locals reported a "drone explosion" near one of the towers of Moscow City, publishing a video in which a Russian woman says that "the city has been blown up again.”
Five Russian bombers destroyed or damaged over three days
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it likely assumed that its aviation assets were relatively safe. Ukraine’s intelligence services have done their utmost to dispel this notion.
On the morning of August 19, 2023, agents cooperating with Ukrainian military intelligence attacked a military airfield in Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast. A Tu-22 M3 bomber was destroyed, and two more aircraft were damaged.
On the morning of August 21, two more Russian bombers were damaged in Kaluga Oblast at Shaykovka airfield as a result of an attack by drones controlled by HUR saboteurs.
"These drone operations are coordinated by the HUR and have caused sensitive losses to the enemy in military aviation. The most important thing is that such planes [Tu-22 M3s] are no longer produced in Russia," a senior intelligence source told NV at the time.
Explosions in Enerhodar
The HUR has made it clear that traitors and collaborators can expect no mercy, and on Aug. 23, the agency carried out an operation to eliminate quislings while they met with a local branch of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
When the Russians began to evacuate, another strike was made on the parking lot near the building, which eliminated more enemy personnel, a confidential security source told NV at the tie.
On Aug 28, the HUR of the Ministry of Defense published a video of a drone attack on a police headquarters in Enerhodar.
Ukrainian forces hit the improvised barracks of the Chechen Akhmat-1 unit, well known for its cowardice in battle, brutality towards local civilians, and idiotic TikTok videos.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
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