Scout Liutii is a native of Donbas. Now, he is in command of the Black Winter Group unit as part of the DIU's Timur Special Forces.

BBC.Ukraine journalists published Liutii's story.

The intelligence officer's struggle against the muscovites and their mercenaries began in 2014. When russia waged war against Ukraine, he formed an underground unit to resist the occupiers and collaborators in the east.

"They were passionate people ready to work for Ukraine with actions, not words. Back then, such people were in the minority in Donbas. Many pro-Ukrainian citizens were silent about their position out of fear," the intelligence officer said.

Among the underground's tasks were collecting and transmitting information about the enemy's movements and taking active actions to counter the implementation of the russian scenario in Donbas.

One day, the group went on a mission to disrupt the so-called "mayoral elections" in one of the cities and, if possible, eliminate the leader of a pro-russian militant group. Suddenly, the car with the Ukrainian partisans was surrounded and shot at - there was a traitor among the underground who had betrayed them all to the russians.

The invaders threw the survivors into the basement with other prisoners, primarily Ukrainian civilians. Lyutyi and the others were taken to a mock execution.

"They were shooting, and I did not understand whether I was already dead or still alive," the scout said.

After several days of torture, the unthinkable happened at dawn.

"I could not believe that I survived. My friends and acquaintances were killed in the car that was shot at. After that, I realized that we had to go on and build a unit. But we made a mistake by letting a traitor join our ranks. It taught me a lot," Liutii recalled.

Please read the story of rescuing the dead from the basement in Donbas, a combat unit with its own Black Winter Group library, and the warriors' motivation to continue the fight for the liberation of Ukraine in the exclusive and only interview with scout Liutii: https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cwypl0yvyqqo.