Russia-Ukraine war: All you need to know about Russian Special Force Spetsnaz

Ukraine’s military continues to mount a defense against Russian invasion whose military is better armed, bigger, and steeped in recent combat experience from Syria's civil war. According to reports, missiles rained on Ukrainian cities and destroyed air bases and other key buildings. Among the Russian military units which crossed the Ukrainian borders are the Spetsnaz.

As per NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent thousands of Spetsnaz special forces to Belarus during the joint military drills, who have carried out missions during wartime as well as peace, in emergencies across the world.

What is Russian Spetsnaz force?

It is first important to know about the Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravlenie or GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, to better understand the origin of the sophisticated special military unit. In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the GRU outlasted the KGB and now many western powers fear that the same thing is flourishing today.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the GRU stands for the Main Intelligence Directorate which has been blamed for the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack. This military intelligence unit also has its own commando unit called the Spetsnaz apart from agents. The mission of Spetsnaz is to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage.

During the Soviet era and invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the Spetsnaz were said to be very active. In 1949, the commando unit was formed. Translation of the word Spetsnaz is “special designation” and is applied to elite military units in Russia.

According to the BBC, the commandos in the Spetsnaz special unit number between 1,500 and 2,000, and the unit is controlled by the Federal Security Service. The Russian Special forces have been used in big international events including the recent Syria crisis, and to lead an attack on the Chechen rebels two decades ago.

This Russian military force, as an airborne battlefield reconnaissance force, was operating behind enemy lines during the Cold War.

Role of Russian Special Force

The Spetsnaz soldiers were recruited for a range of security and counter-terrorism roles after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Vega, one of the Spetsnaz units, specialises in dealing with nuclear incidents while the other called Fakel (or torch) is skilled in dealing with a hostage situation.

It takes five years of training to become a Spetsnaz soldier. It is learned that the soldiers are handpicked from other military units who show signs of toughness of character.

Russia-Ukraine war

On Thursday, February 24, Russia launched attacks on major cities and airports across Ukraine, shelling more than a dozen cities and towns, including the outskirts of Kyiv. A spokesman for Russia's defence ministry has informed that paratroopers will be deployed to help guard the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

(Image: AP)