Now let me provide some context here.
The Ukrainian SBU is a truly frightening secret service. Ever since it's foundation following the independence of the Ukraine the SBU did some work arresting gangsters and criminals, but it's most feared mission was to be the "enforcement" service of whoever was in power. The top of the top of the SBU forces were supposed to be the "A" or "Alpha" anti-terrorist forces. It is rather cute that the proudly independent Ukies felt the need to use the same designation as the hated Moskals whose famous anti-terrorist group is called "A" (the Alpha thing is a media invented misnomer and an attempt to sound like the US "Delta" Force; in reality the group is called "the A Directorate"). Anyway, they call have the same name, but in terms of skills or record the two groups are very different. For one thing, the Russian "A" never was the enforcement service of the regime and they had no political role or mission at all. Second, they really did deal with anti-terrorism and very serious organized crime.
Still, by Ukrainian standards, these are the top of the top. These are also the folks who have been kidnapping anti-regime activists over the pasts months. I have to note that the previous commander of the Ukrainian Alpha was sacked for refusing to engage in operations against the Russian-speaking population - so there were some honorable officers in this group. But by now it is pretty clear who stayed. And they mission was typical too: to kidnap the head of the local police department.
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| The hunters became prey |
The three captured today were lead by a Lieutenant-Colonel, no less. For the Russian militias to have detected, intercepted and captured three undercover Alpha officers is already fantastic, but to catch an Alpha Lieutenant-Colonel is nothing short of miraculous. It is also a testimony of the absolutely unique level of gross incompetence of the Ukrainian security service to have such a high ranking operative caught.
It is also highly ironical.
For days the regime in Kiev was reporting that it caught GRU (Russian military intelligence) officers here, then there, then again over there. They were never shown, of course. At the GRU HQ in Moscow they laughingly declared that by now the Ukies had caught so many GRU officers that the entire GRU personnel was now in captivity and the GRU offices empty. So imagine the pain and embarrassment in Kiev when they found out the self-organized militias of a small town near Donetsk managed to capture 3 Alpha officers alive, including a Lieutenant-Colonel.
The video shows them pretty well-banged up - they did resist being captured - and completely despondent. All three clearly realize that their screwup deserves to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records under the "amazing incompetence" heading.
The past 24 hours have been a disaster for the junta in Kiev: first a group of spies pretending to be with the OSCE got caught, and now 3 Alpha officers are also captured.
Except attacking a few checkpoints and stealing its food and medicines, the junta forces have so far totally failed to achieve anything. The single most feared segment the junta's security and enforcement apparatus was the SBU, which is also the best equipped and best trained. And then this.
I wonder what else could go wrong? Will a US national working for the CIA be captured wearing a silly wig? Or maybe a junta official like Avakov or Taruta?
Let's just hope that nothing terrible happens tomorrow as the regime might try something "macho" to save face, like Reagan did in Grenada (arguable the worst military operation in modern history, by the way).
Stay tuned. Kind regards and good nite,
The Saker
