Farewell ceremony for the four Ukrainians killed in December 2022 in the Bryansk region of Russia at the Saint-Michel-au-Dôme-d’Or monastery March 7, 2023 in Kiev. They were part of the Bratstvo Battalion, a group of volunteers formed into a special forces unit after the February 2022 Russian invasion. LAURENT VAN DER STOCKT FOR THE WORLD
Sitting in a cafe in downtown Kiev, the two men are a reflection of the sabotage and diversionary operations they conduct behind enemy lines: discreet and thoughtful. Mykola and Petro, pseudonyms, are part of the Bratstvo (“Brotherhood” in Ukrainian) battalion, a group of volunteers formed as a special forces unit since the beginning of the Russian invasion and whose specialty is to operate in the Ukrainian-held territories and beyond operate the soil of the Russian Federation.
The military formation consists of veterans of the Donbass war and new recruits with no military experience, such as Petro, a dry-faced young man in civilian clothes. “We select people who have creative minds, people who are capable of getting the job done,” explains Mykola, who is bearded with fine features, met on Wednesday March 8th.
At the end of February 2022, when the Kremlin army descended from Belarusian territory towards Kiev, the battalion, just created in conjunction with a Christian nationalist movement, takes part in the defense of the Ukrainian capital and prepares for the scenario of a Russian victory. “We were willing to organize a network of supporters,” Mykola says today. After a series of tactical failures, Russian forces withdrew from Ukraine’s northern regions in late March 2022, leaving a population scarred by weeks of occupation.
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Unofficial status
This is when the fighters decide to form special forces and operate in enemy territory. “If we had joined a brigade of the Ukrainian army, we would have had many more dead and our actions would not have had as much impact,” Mykola reflects. Their unofficial status, technically independent from the Ukrainian army, allows Kiev to deny any responsibility for their actions in Russia. “When we are in enemy territory, we are volunteers and have no connection to the army,” says Mykola.
Conversely, when the soldiers are operating in the occupied territories, “the Ukrainian authorities are talking about what we’re doing,” slips Petro, wrapped in a black fleece. The young man explains that a large part of her time is spent gathering information before operations. A task that specifically involves activating a network of supporters.
He cites the example of a mission carried out in the occupied part of the Zaporizia region of south-eastern Ukraine along the Dnieper near the town of Enerhodar, without giving the date. “We have set up a base not far from the Russian positions on the shore,” explains the soldier. We wanted to mine a strategic route that they would use to transport military equipment, attack a base of new mobilizers, and kidnap the local police chief. »
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