When counterterrorism specialists train in simulation, the assumption is that civilians, local government and law enforcement bodies are either supportive or don’t interfere when an operation is underway.
That’s not the case in eastern Ukraine, where the
anti-terrorist task force, comprised of Security Service (SBU) Alpha Group
units, special Interior Ministry forces and the military is engaged in hostile
territory.
“This is the most difficult of the 17,000 operations upon
which the (SBU’s) counter-terrorism Alpha Group has embarked,” first deputy SBU
chief Vasyl Krutov said at an April 25 briefing, in reference to the mission in
Donetsk Oblast.
Slovyansk and Kramatorsk are the most vitriolic, said the
64-year-old SBU Anti-Terrorist Center chief. There, local enforcement,
including the SBU, “have not only broken down but sometimes sabotage (our
anti-terrorist operation),” said Krutov.
In addition, many residents sympathize “with the enemy,” he
continued, “while others work for them” including elements of local
governments.
Kremlin-backed militants control some 30 government
buildings, including SBU and police stations in Donetsk Oblast. Besieged and
without local support, Ukraine’s counterterrorism team has had to rely on a
network of military bases, many of which get constantly attacked or harassed by
pro-Russian militants, from which to engage.
And because the SBU wants to avoid the loss of civilian
lives, according to Krutov, the operation has progressed slowly. “Our big,
complex, operation aims to locate, contain, and neutralize the terrorists, the
subversives, the weapons and ammunition channels, the separatists…” he said.
To do that he needs more public support, “including in
Slovyansk, he said, adding that it is every citizen’s responsibility to be allies with us.”
On April 24, Ukrainian aircraft dropped leaflets to
residents in northern Donetsk Oblast, including Slovyansk, instructing them how
to behave during the anti-terrorist operation.
Moreover, the core Kremlin-backed militants and their
leaders, believed to be high-ranking Russian military intelligence officers,
hide behind human shields, which make it nearly impossible to reach them, said
Krutov.
Officials in Moscow have denied any involvement in the
unrest in eastern Ukraine.
Enemies also lurch from within, admitted Krutov. Because of
Russian-recruited agents and spies that have penetrated the SBU and every other
law enforcement body, “it makes it difficult to plan and prepare let alone
carry out operations in extreme secrecy.”
He added “we’re working in a stressful rhythm, these are the
most abnormal of situations…I would call this an extraordinary phenomenon.”
What Krutov and others are essentially up against, is a
carefully planned operation orchestrated by the Kremlin well in advance,
defense and security experts have noted.
This includes the alleged direct involvement of Russian military
intelligence and Federal Security Service (FSB) personnel, their deeply-rooted
network of trained Russian and Ukrainian agents, covert financing and supplies
of weapons, Kevlar vests, helmets, as well as communications.
Even the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama
stated as early as February that “Russian special operations forces or Spetsnaz
units are responsible for the provocations and riots that have beset eastern
Ukraine.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, “It is clear that
Russian special forces and agents have been the catalyst behind the chaos…”
But because Ukraine’s SBU had until February cooperated with
Russia’s FSB on intelligence matters, U.S. authorities have been reluctant to
share crucial intelligence, wrote the Daily Beast’s State Department
correspondent on April 8.
It is assumed that the Russians know how to break Ukraine’s
encrypted communication, thus depriving it of the element of surprise and
secrecy. Up to 30 percent of Ukraine’s SBU until February were FSB or Russian
Military Intelligence agents, Razumkov Center Military Programs Director Mykola
Sunhurovsky told Liga.net on April 23.
“We’ve had to almost start from scratch,” said Krutov. “New
professionals, resources, forces, and technology…”
That might be changing, however. CIA Director John Brennan
visited Kyiv over the weekend of April 12-13. Although Washington, D.C.
confirmed his visit, both sides were tight-lipped about the nature of his stay.
There are signs that Brennan left behind American advisers,
though. On April 23, the Financial times reported that “U.S. assistance had
been provided on the ground in Ukraine,” in reference to the counterterrorism
operation.
It cited a spokesperson for Ukrainian First Deputy Prime
Minister Vitaliy Yarema, who said that “consultation were provided by
American specialists,” who declined to elaborate.
Despite the circumstances, the barrel-chested Krutov shot up
above the questions from journalists and said: “Nothing will stop our fighting
spirit…the Ukrainian people must know out there that we are risking our lives
for them.”
Kyiv Post editor Mark
Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
