Thread by @MaxRTucker

I spent much of last week with the men and women of Ukraine’s equivalent of US Navy SEALs, elite divers from the 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre, on assignment with @thetimes. The 73rd conduct reconnaissance and sabotage operations deep behind Russian lines… 1/

…using stealth to infiltrate coastal defences underwater and mount surprise raids on high value targets. They have been wreaking havoc on Putin’s troops as Ukraine tries to drive Russia from its territorial waters. 2/

Operating in the black of night under the waves, a compass, watch, depth gauge and mental arithmetic are their only guides. Tugging on a rope strung out between them is their only form of communication under water. 3/

While the Ukrainian military’s land grab in Kursk has focused attention hundreds of miles to the north, the more strategic battle is being fought in the Black Sea — and it is one that Ukraine is winning, against all odds, with British and US help. 4/

When Ukrainian special forces drove the Russians from Snake Island on June 30, 2022, four months after the invasion, they secured a corridor for the country to export grain from the port of Odesa. 5/

Last September Ukraine established control over a number of oil rigs, which today serve as a launchpad for attacks on Russian targets in Crimea. 6/

Now, clearing the Russians from the Kinburn Spit and Tendra Spit is vital for unblocking Ukraine’s second-largest port, Mykolaiv. These two streaks of land jut across the estuary of the Southern Buh river, allowing the Russians to sever the port from the sea. 7/

On one mission this summer, four Ukrainian divers dropped over the sides of their boat, disappeared under the waves and moved towards the enemy coastline. 8/

Trained by UK and US special forces and equipped with the state of the art rebreathers, they swam in pairs, leaving no bubbles above them to give away their positions. The Russians never saw them coming. 9/

When the first pair reached the Russian-controlled coast, they soon realised they were alone. A technical malfunction forced the second pair to turn back. Alex, their commander, was watching through a drone feed but could not communicate with them without alerting the enemy. 10/

“In preparing our missions, we go through all the ‘what if’ scenarios,” says Alex. “What if the boat breaks down? What if the weapon fails? What if the explosives fail or half are lost? We talk through whatever we can imagine will go wrong. If we can, we continue the mission.”/11

Despite being down to two men, facing a battalion of enemy troops stationed in the area, the team leader decided to pursue his target. He found a gap in the barbed wire coastal defences that would save them precious time, and pushed on. 12/

“There were at least 500 soldiers in different locations. If the alarm sounds, they take up positions, start defending and looking for the divers,” Alex says. The divers had been ordered to take out an armoured Russian ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft system. /13

Hiding their diving equipment and moving inland undetected, the pair reached the road used by the Russians and planted their explosives. Then they waited. When the anti-aircraft vehicle rumbled down the road under cover of darkness, the divers pressed the detonator. /14

“We saw the vehicle blow up, as well as the ammunition that was inside. There was a crew in that vehicle, and they were transporting a shift that was supposed to rotate troops into their positions. We probably killed eight to ten Russians,” Alex says. /15

The Russians were stunned. So far from the front, they could not imagine they’d been attacked. “We were listening to their radio interceptions. They were blaming each other for not providing maps of their mines. The divers escaped unnoticed, swimming back to their boat. 16/

Among the operators of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre is Captain “Judy”, one of only a few women to have undergone a Nato special forces qualification, or “Q” course. 17/

You can read more about the 73rd Special Operations Centre in my full dispatch, here:

Ukraine’s western-trained ‘navy seals’ unleash wave of destruction

thetimes.com/article/07186c…

And you can follow the (declassified ) activities of these special forces divers here: @73centreuasof