Three months after the war, the Ukrainian army has caused awe in the world with its impressive defense against Russian invading forces. Ukrainian special forces forces have played a major role in this resistance. But to develop these skills, Ukrainian operators have been working hard for years and learning from the best.
How the US helped the Ukrainian commandos
A US Army Green Beret is conducting a combat exercise with Romanian and Ukrainian special pilots in Romania, May 6, 2021. Romanian Army / Captain. Roxana Davidovic
Since 2014, US special operations forces have been training their Ukrainian counterparts in almost every skill and mission imaginable. The long-standing effort of the US and its NATO allies to train their Ukrainian counterparts has created a strong military force with a strong corps of non-commissioned officers. It has also created a potential recruiting force for Ukrainian special operations units, helping these units not only get better but also bigger. “Our Special Operations Forces are assisting in the development and cooperation with other allies to come to Ukraine and assist in the establishment of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces,” said General Richard Clark, Chief of the US Special Operations Command. Armed Services of the Parliament. at a hearing in April. “Since that training began eight years ago, these Ukrainian forces have ‘doubled in size,’” Clark said. Ukrainian troops during special operations training in November 2015. Andriy Ageev / Ukrainian Ministry of Defense The SOCOM boss acknowledged that the US effort to train Ukrainian special pilots was extensive and included conventional US troops and National Guard units. (Special task forces from the United Kingdom and other NATO troops have also trained Ukrainians.) Clarke stressed that the Ukrainian pilots have also added new capabilities, with US pilots speeding them up in business planning, civil war and small-unit tactics, among others. But it is in the mission of unconventional war where the Ukrainians learned the most. Prior to the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Ukrainian special forces operated in line with Russian dogma and practice. As a former Soviet republic, the Ukrainian army was heavily influenced – and in many ways still is – by the Soviet model. This story means that there were not many differences between the Ukrainian and Russian special pilots, but that has changed completely after eight years of training with Western commandos. Soldiers of the Special Forces of the Ukrainian, Romanian and American Armed Forces during an exercise in Romania, May 6, 2021. Romanian Army / Captain. Roxana Davidovic Today, the Ukrainian army has a capable special operations unit that can deal with any problem posed by Russia. In addition to combat skills, the US Army Psychological Operations and Political Affairs troops worked with the Ukrainians on mild skills that could increase their effectiveness on the battlefield. Since the start of the current conflict in February, Ukrainian forces have waged an extremely effective information war. Reports that the Ukrainians have stolen, sometimes with the help of, and distributed around the world – radio interceptions of Russian troops in disarray and video after video of the destruction of Russian equipment – have exacerbated the humiliation of the Russian army and security services. “One aspect is that many of our political affairs, our psychological operations and our Special Forces worked side by side with the Ukrainians,” Clark told lawmakers. “It was not just combat forces, but also other special operations units that work very closely with their Ukrainian partners.”
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces
A Ukrainian Special Operations Soldier secures a prisoner of war during an exercise in Bulgaria, June 17, 2019. US Special Operations Command in Europe
In the weeks since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in late February, Ukrainian special forces forces have wreaked havoc behind Russian lines. Utilizing their inherent organizational flexibility and taking advantage of the miserable practices of the Russian security forces, Ukrainian special forces seized Russian logistics units, starving Russian front-line units of ammunition, fuel and reinforcements. One tactic used by the Ukrainian commandos was the use of small groups of anti-tank weapons on four-wheelers or motorcycles. These mobile teams could overtake and overcome cumbersome Russian columns and use anti-tank missiles or mines to remove Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Videos often showed Ukrainian paratroopers ambushing and destroying Russian mechanized columns and even select Russian units, such as the VDV air force. The Russian advance has stopped and Russian troops have retreated from many areas in northern and northeastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian special forces were the key to stopping the Russian advance on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv in particular. Ukraine’s expert pilots have performed wonderfully so far. As the conflict appears to be settling into a new, more static and tougher phase, whether the Ukrainian army can continue to push the Russian invaders will depend on something more than its commandos. Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a veteran of the Greek Army (national service in the 575th Marine Battalion and Army Headquarters) and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University.
