Ukrainian Sabotage Groups Penetrated 600 Km Into Russian Territory, Says Former Intelligence Deputy Pavlenko

2025-07-18 07:07:22

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the former deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Major General Ilia Pavlenko

"In 2022, the community of democratic partners, in particular the United States, was very concerned that we would not enter Russian territory. But when it came to the transfer of weapons, the leaders of the countries always said that these weapons were not for use on Russian territory. Then came the story when everyone was happy that we were finally given some kind of permission (to strike Russian territory)," Pavlenko recalled.

He added that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, expressed a military-political opinion back in 2022 that it was necessary to transfer the war to enemy territory.

“And then there were no long-range drones yet, it was special forces groups that entered the territory of the Russian Federation and carried out all these sabotage operations there,” Pavlenko said. At the same time, he added that with the advent of new technologies, the results became significantly more significant.

He also stressed that the work of Ukrainian special forces is associated with risk to life.

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"I pay tribute to the courage and dedication of the guys who entered [the territory of the Russian Federation] and did interesting things there. One of the well-known operations took place when a group from the Main Intelligence Directorate, led by Hero of Ukraine (posthumously) Oleh Babiy, entered the territory of the Novgorod region. At the Soltsi airfield. They completely destroyed one Tu-22M3 bomber and damaged two more. The Novgorod region is 600 km away," Pavlenko said, emphasizing that such operations demonstrate the professionalism and high level of autonomy of Ukrainian special forces.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine presented a documentary film by director Oleksandr Nebylovich,“The Struggle for the Black Sea,” about unique naval operations.

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