Ukrainian volunteers told The Observer about successful sabotage in Russia

< p>The Bratstvo volunteer special forces battalion delivers explosives and conducts sabotage operations in Russia, three members of the organization told The Observer.

The Brotherhood fighters said they easily crossed the border into Russia in groups of four -five people. They explain the meaning of the operations by the fact that the Russian military command must feel that the war is going on on the territory of Russia. “After the Russians find out that saboteurs are working on their territory, they need to transfer a lot of soldiers to find these saboteurs. This is very demoralizing for the enemy,” said 23-year-old Taras.

Aleksey, 39, and his subordinates Taras and Vladislav, 21, say they operate independently of official forces but are in close contact with them. The Observer does not name the volunteers.

About six weeks ago, volunteers entered Russia to shoot down a helicopter carrying high-ranking officials of the Russian Interior Ministry, according to the newspaper's interlocutors. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but a week later a group of five people crossed the border again and fired at the helicopter with MANPADS from a distance of 4 kilometers. “Unfortunately, we did not see the hit, as we were very far away, but we heard the explosion,” Taras said. He stressed that regardless of whether the helicopter was shot down, the operation was successful. “The helicopter was intended for the Russian leadership. And the very fact that Ukrainian saboteurs are shooting at Russian commanders is already causing tension among the Russians. This unnerves the Russian command,” the volunteer explained.

The last operation of the Brotherhood to date, according to the interlocutors of The Observer, took place a month ago. A group of four people was supposed to “capture or kill a high-ranking FSB officer” on the territory of the Belgorod region. They failed to track down the FSB officer and had to break through the Russian frontier post. According to Vladislav, the saboteurs killed three border guards and captured the fourth, who was taken to Ukraine and handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Of the Ukrainians, only one person was wounded in the arm, says The Observer's source.

Russian media did not report a helicopter crash in the border regions in December or a shootout near Belgorod a month ago.

Operations include, in particular, the delivery of explosives to Russia, members of the group say. “I don’t know for what and to whom this explosive was intended. But I know for sure that some people in Russia are ready to help Ukrainians,” Taras describes one of the operations.

Four members of the Brotherhood were killed in December in the Bryansk region, their murder was reported in December 2022 FSB. Aleksey called them “one of the best fighters of the battalion.”