On March 10, 2024, the documentary “War for the Sea: from Dnipro to Crimea” was premiered on a national TV marathon.

The importance of combat missions carried out by military intelligence units, in particular in the Black Sea and on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, was explained by Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov in the film.

“These are all preparatory measures for a serious operation in Crimea. This is a test of the correctness of our statements about the ways of approaching and leaving Crimea. In addition, it is a good message for the population that has been living under occupation for ten years. Many of them believe that they have been forgotten,” said Kyrylo Budanov.

The details of the war for the sea in 2022-2023 were described by the DIU’s warriors, who participated in the planning and implementation of combat missions, linked to the same strategic plan.

In the summer of 2023, warriors from the ‘Shaman’ special forces unit took advantage of the muscovites' inattention and crossed to the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson region.

“We realised that the enemy was not sufficiently aware of the situation. We took boats to the enemy’s territory in the interposition space, landed, and immediately had several intense clashes with enemy observation posts. Some of the observation posts were almost completely destroyed or captured,” the commander of the special forces unit with call sign Shaman recalled the first steps in establishing the left bank bridgehead.

In July 2023, warriors of Timur’s special forces unit returned the Ukraine oil and gas production platform to state control, and later took part in the “Awakening of Power” Crimean Operation.

“The enemy will never have dominance in the sea, no matter what they think of. This is our Black Sea, our 'towers', our Crimea, our Zmiyinyi Island,” said the commander of the DIU’s special forces unit.

Destroying the enemy ships is area of responsibility of the Group 13 special forces unit. Each such mission requires careful preparation.

“We understand how to manoeuvre, what angle to enter from, and from which side. We evaluate a lot of factors before we attack. And after that, we start searching for the target. Once the target is found, when the boats get into a favourable position, a simultaneous attack is launched by all boats,” explained the unit commander with the call sign Trynadtsytyi (Thirteen).

More stories of the intelligence officers who set new rules of warfare, as well as unique footage of technological naval battles, amphibious raids and combat engagements with the enemy, please see the documentary “War for the Sea: from Dnipro to Crimea” by pressing on a link: https://youtu.be/M8ldXJw6WFg