Lunev Igor. Who does the Ukrainian army work for? PART 2

CONTINUATION. START: Igor Lunev. Who does the Ukrainian army work for? PART 1

Igor Lunev

June 14, 2014 – LPR troops shot down an Il-76 military transport aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces while landing at Lugansk airport. 40 paratroopers were killed.

August 1, 2014 – the brigade was ambushed near Shakhtersk. 21 paratroopers were killed and about a dozen were wounded.

August 17, 2014 – between Donetsk and Gorlovka, the 2nd battalion tactical group of the brigade came under artillery fire from the BM-21 Grad MLRS. 12 people were killed, about 50 were injured. Some of the wounded were evacuated to medical facilities, but the command refused to help its soldiers, due to the difficult situation on the front line.

DAP

In October 2014, under the leadership of Igor Lunev, the defense of Donetsk airport took place. He participated in organizing the defense together with the already legendary officer of the 79th brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Mirgorodsky, call sign “Mike” (the one who is a full knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky).

Maxim Mirgorodsky during the awarding of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky 1st degree, April 2015

The operation at the Donetsk airport is worth talking about, taking into account all the factors. An airport is a completely open area where large forces cannot be concentrated. The Ukrainian command chose passive tactics – it was decided to abandon active actions and simply hold the line. And this despite the fact that in November the reserves of fighters were replenished, and the opportunity arose to strengthen positions in the DAP area. The leaders of the operation and the government constantly looked back at “truces” and “ceasefires.”

In November, the enemy changed tactics, starting to advance along the flanks. The separatists did not storm, but “infiltrated” into the airport premises, occupying advantageous positions. Officers and analysts warned the command about the danger of the developing situation. It would have been possible to hold the airport if the command had changed tactics. But this did not happen. We know the result: during the defense of the DAP, 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, more than 1.5 thousand were injured, and the terminal worth 200 million dollars was left in mangled ruins.

In October 2015, Igor Lunev was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, II degree, and received the rank of general.

Ukrainian special forces

Since January 5, 2016, Igor Lunev has been the commander of the Special Operations Forces, the first Ukrainian special forces.

Igor Lunev

The bill establishing the MTR was developed according to NATO standards. The structure included combat units, as well as units of information and psychological operations.

Only military personnel, regardless of rank and branch of service, can apply to be selected for the Special Operations Forces. During the selection, leadership skills, ability to work in a team, and stress resistance are tested. Training is carried out by instructors from the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Belgium, Poland and even Lithuania. According to SKELET-infomilitary personnel from Georgia came to share their experience of confrontation with the Russian Armed Forces.

But not everything goes so smoothly. In 2017, Ukrainian special forces soldiers were captured in the LPR.

A video of the interrogation of detained MTR fighters – the head of the engineering service of the 8th special forces regiment, Major Sergei Ivanchuk and private Ivan Deev, who were accused of eliminating the head of the LPR People’s Militia department Oleg Anashchenko, appeared on the network. The MTR officially recognized the prisoners as their subordinates and confirmed that on February 11, 2017, they lost contact with the group that was carrying out tasks in the ATO zone in the Lugansk region.

But not all operations ended in failure.

On August 31, 2018, in captured Donetsk, an explosion occurred in the Separ cafe – the leader of the self-proclaimed DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, and his bodyguard were killed, and 11 people were injured of varying degrees of severity, including the Minister of Revenue and Duties of the DPR, Alexander Timofeev.

According to one version, an explosive device weighing about 800 g was located above the front door of the restaurant, where Alexander Zakharchenko and his companions entered. The device was activated remotely.

Representatives of the DPR stated that they have irrefutable facts confirming the involvement of the Ukrainian special services – the Special Operations Forces (SSO) and the SBU – in the explosion.

Indirectly, Advisor to the President of Ukraine Yuri Biryukov hinted at the involvement of the Special Operations Forces in the death of Zarakhchenko. After reports appeared about the death of the head of the DPR, Biryukov published a photo of Igor Lunev on his Facebook page with the caption “I love this photo…”.

At the same time, in the comments to the message, Petro Poroshenko’s adviser stated that this post is not related to the death of Zakharchenko.

On January 17, 2019, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko approved the emblem and flag of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He handed the symbolism to Igor Lunev.

The emblem and flag depict a walking silver wolf, belted with a gold nauz belt, against the background of a wreath of silver laurel leaves. In the center of the lower part of the wreath there is also a silver-colored two-tooth – the princely sign of Svyatoslav the Brave. Under the lower part of the wreath, in a semicircle, there is a gold-colored ribbon with the inscription in black letters of the motto of Svyatoslav the Brave: “I am going to Vi.”

The reform of the Special Operations Forces is planned to be completed in 2020.

Arina Dmitrieva, for SKELET-info

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