The Shaman Battalion is a special force subordinate to the Ukrainian military intelligence service. The group’s task is, among other things, to carry out missions behind enemy lines – also inside Russia.
The Times has interviewed 30-year-old “Intelligent” who says the group has a new mission to kill high-ranking Russian commanders.
– We have an increased number of targets and assignments for specific people inside Russia.
Several successful raids
According to the Times, the Shaman Battalion has been conducting raids targeting infrastructure behind Russian lines for over a year. “Intelligent” claims that the group has carried out more than ten successful missions in the last six months.
Ukraine says it has killed 15 Russian generals since the war began. Moscow has confirmed six deaths, most of them near the front lines.
According to SVT’s foreign reporter Bert Sundström, the group’s information should be taken with a grain of salt.
– They have probably had some success, but a lot of it is probably exaggeration. In this war, disinformation and rumor-mongering are very important components. You always want to exaggerate your own successes, he says.
SBU: Suspected assassination attempt on Zelenskyj
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s intelligence service SBU announced that it had arrested a woman who planned an assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
– If Ukraine has soldiers and spies inside Russia who fight for Ukraine’s cause, then of course Russia does the same thing.
See Bert Sundström in the video above what importance the group has in the war, or see when Bert Sundström visited Morgonstudion to talk about the special forces (38 min in).