Our actions in Black Sea – preparation for a serious operation in Crimea – Kyrylo Budanov

On March 10, 2024, the premiere of the documentary War for the Sea: From the Dnipro to the Crimea took place on the air of the national telethon.

The significance of the combat missions carried out by military intelligence units, in particular in the Black Sea and the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, was explained in the film by the head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine / Lieutenant General, Kyrylo Budanov.

"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 approach and departure from there. 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," Kyrylo Budanov said.

The details of the war for the sea in 2022-2023 were described by the soldiers of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, who participated in the planning and implementation of combat missions connected by one strategic plan.

In the summer of 2023, fighters of the Shaman special forces unit took advantage of the inattention of Muscovites and crossed to the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson Region.

"We realized that the enemy was not sufficiently aware of the situation. We entered the enemy's territory in the inter-positional space by boat, landed, and immediately had several intense clashes with the enemy's observation posts. Some observation posts were almost completely destroyed or captured," the commander of the special unit with the call sign Shaman recalled the first steps of creating the left-bank bridgehead.

In July 2023, the fighters of Timur's special unit returned the oil and gas production platform Ukraina to the control of the state and later participated in the Crimean operation Awakening Of The Force.

"The enemy will never have dominion in the sea, no matter what they come up with there. This is our Black Sea, these are our "towers," our Crimea, our Snake Island," said the commander of the Defense Intelligence's special unit.

Destruction of ships of the enemy fleet is the area of responsibility of the special unit "Group 13." Each such mission requires careful preparation.

"We understand how to maneuver, at what angle to enter, from which side. We evaluate a lot of factors before attacking. And after that, the search for the target begins. After detection, when the sides enter a favorable position, a simultaneous attack is carried out by all sides," explained the commander of the unit with the call sign Thirteenth.

For more testimonies of scouts who establish new rules of warfare, as well as unique footage of technological naval battles, amphibious raids, and combat encounters with the enemy, see the documentary "War for the Sea: From the Dnieper to the Crimea."