Ukraine's elite 'Shaman' battalion force operating inside Russia, read to know why

Ukrainian special forces operatives from Kyiv's elite "Shaman" battalion are operating within Russian borders with the objective of eliminating high-ranking Moscow commanders, claims a new report.

"We have an increased number of targets, missions on specific people or targets, such as buildings where a general or somebody like that is located inside Russia," a Ukrainian sergeant with the call-sign "Intelligent," told London's The Times.

Fighters in the battalion have been "crossing the Russian border to strike airbases and kill the Kremlin's senior army commanders," The Times's Maxim Tucker wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

For a significant duration spanning almost a decade, Ukraine's Shaman battalion, under the oversight of Ukrainian military intelligence agency, has been engaged in operations targeting Moscow's military. The commander of the Shaman battalion, known by the alias "Shaman," revealed to "The War Zone" by The Drive in July 2022 that the specialised forces unit has executed numerous substantial missions within Crimea and various other regions.

Since 2014, the Kremlin has provided support to pro-Moscow factions in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, a period during which Russia also forcibly annexed the Crimean peninsula.

"We had some operations in Russia long before 2022," he said. "Because Russia actually started this war against Ukraine in 2014, not in 2022."

In June of 2022, The Times published a report indicating that the Shaman operatives were engaging in "covert raids inside Russia" with the aim of dismantling key infrastructure crucial to the Kremlin's military operations. This information was based on accounts from two planning agents and an intelligence officer.

Shaman battaliion making headway

Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, on Monday said the Shaman battalion was "advancing deep into the occupied territories and continue to inflict losses on the enemy."

The concise announcement refrained from providing additional particulars regarding the specific operational location of the fighters. It merely noted the elimination of a Russian specialist unit. According to an analysis released on Monday by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank, the fighters were dispatched to the Russian-held eastern sector of Ukraine's southern Kherson region. This assessment drew upon information sourced from Ukrainian authorities.

On Thursday, the Russian state news agency Tass conveyed that a representative from GUR, Ukraine's military intelligence agency, informed a Ukrainian continuous news service that Kyiv's specialized forces were operating with efficacy, not solely on the frontline but also in areas behind it.

In a post on X, Tucker shared a video clip that seemed to suggest an incident where Shaman battalion members ambushed Russian troops subsequent to assisting pro-Kyiv Russian sympathisers in crossing Ukraine's border.

I caught up Shaman battalion, an Ukrainian special forces unit, who revealed they had been crossing the Russian border to strike airbases and kill the Kremlin’s senior army commanders. pic.twitter.com/7bkRTdeCTE

— Maxim Tucker (@MaxRTucker) August 9, 2023

Previously, Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence had released the same footage, attributing the ambush to pro-Ukrainian Chechen fighters.