Alpha Group Ukraine - Olena Kiselova shows the death notice issued by the Security Service of Ukraine for her son Volodymyr Kiselov. He was 32. Photo by Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail • Materials courtesy of family
Captain Volodymyr Kiselov had a choice: he could go back with his Ukrainian special forces unit and possibly live to see his wife and young daughter again, or he could stand under fire heavy Russian and give his men a better chance to escape.
Alpha Group Ukraine
In a battle on May 7 somewhere in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, 32-year-old Captain Kiselov chose the latter. His unit of fighters, members of the famous Alpha group of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), successfully returned to a more protected position than Captain Kiselov, nicknamed "Vova" and his colleague called "Uncle". Sasha" stayed behind to provide cover fire. Both were killed.
No End In Sight: Russia Preparing For Prolonged Conflict In Ukraine
"Vova and Uncle Sasha saved the rest of the group," said 31-year-old Oleksandr Reznikov, who met Captain Kiselov in the army and became his best friend. "They said to the others: Who but us should do it?"
Captain Kiselov's death came three weeks after he met with The Globe and Mail to discuss his unit's role in the successful defense of Kiev, as well as the looming battle for eastern Ukraine. He feared that the second phase of the war would be more difficult and more dangerous for him and his men - if the West did not accelerate the delivery of long-range artillery, which is needed in Ukraine.
Details of his last mission are not public, and the SBU press office said it could not comment on combat casualties as the war continued.
But Captain Kiselov's family and friends believe he was a hero who helped turn the war for Ukraine. They want his story to be told - at least what they know.
Commando Network Coordinates Flow Of Weapons In Ukraine, Officials Say
They also believe his death could have been prevented by swifter action by the West to deliver long-range weapons, reducing the need for special forces units such as Captain Kiselov to attempt dangerous attacks close to Russian artillery. and military units.
Only weeks into the war, when it became clear that Ukraine was strongly and successfully resisting Russian aggression, did Canada and other Western allies begin sending in heavy artillery to Ukraine.
“If we had artillery and missiles that could hit them, we could win this war. But now we can't reach them and that's why they're moving on," Captain Kiselov told The Globe on April 21.
Sixteen days after that conversation in a restaurant in Kiev—and six days before Ukraine announced it had begun deploying Western-supplied howitzers in the field—Captain Kiselov was dead.
Ukrainian Troops Approach Outskirts Of Kherson After Taking Key Town
Poltava Central Park was the favorite place for Captain Kiselov and his family to walk during short breaks between deployments.
While Ukraine has offered up more than 25,000 Russian soldiers it says it has killed since the war began on February 24, its own military casualties are a closely guarded secret. It has officially claimed between 2,500 and 3,000 military deaths, but Western estimates put the number closer to 11,000.
Last week, Captain Kiselov's mother, his widow and Master Sergeant Oleksandr Reznikov (no relation to the defense minister) agreed to meet with The Globe to tell about a professional soldier whose job it was to remain as anonymous as possible while he was hitting hard. and behind enemy lines.
This is a job Captain Kiselov was proud of - and good at. He and his men played a key role in the battle for Hostomel airfield near Kiev in the first hours of the war. Unequipped and protected by a daring Russian attempt to capture the airport using helicopters and paratroopers, Ukrainian forces thwarted a Russian plan to use Hostomel to land a large force and quickly occupied the capital.
Far Right Militias In Europe Plan To Confront Russian Forces
In the process, several Alpha Group fighters, together with special forces units attached to the Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR, local reservists and foreign volunteers defeated some of the most elite in the Russian military.
Before Hostomel, the larger and technically superior Russian army was expected to quickly conquer much of Ukraine. After that, both sides knew that Ukraine was capable and willing to hold out.
Later, Captain Kiselov and his men were among the first Ukrainian soldiers to enter Bucha, a city on the outskirts of Kiev that had seen mass executions and organized rapes in the month of it was occupied by the Russian military. It was an experience that haunted him for the last five weeks of his life.
A damaged street in Buch was seen on April 7 after Ukrainian forces retook it from Russian invaders.
Thunderbirds' Rescue Civilians From Burning Building In Ukraine
Captain Kiselov joined the army at the age of 18 and was quickly promoted to officer. He was soon selected for the SBU.
The successor organization to the Soviet KGB has a long and controversial history in Ukraine. It was used as a tool of repression by Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych, but since being ousted in the 2014 revolution, it has undergone major purges and reforms.
Captain Kiselov was one of a new generation of SBU officers who grew up in independent Ukraine. They rose to replace former agents, veterans of the KGB whose true loyalty was a source of concern for successive governments in Ukraine. That was never a problem for Captain Kiselov, who grew up in the central Poltava region. His mother Olena Kiselova said that her son was always very proud of being Ukrainian. “He was a quiet patriot. He didn't go around shouting, but he loved Poltava and he loved Ukraine," Ms. Kiselova said. "He told me, 'Mom, I want to be in the SBU because I feel the need me there.'
She said that her son was a "sick boy" who always wanted to join the army. He developed his strength and skills by secretly taking kickboxing classes while she thought he was swimming with friends. "I opened the paper and saw a picture of him after a kickboxing competition," she said. He went from a sickly boy to a fitness fanatic and grew into a muscular, broad-shouldered adult who runs eight to ten kilometers a day.
American Veterans Join The Fight In Ukraine
After joining the SBU, Captain Kiselov spent five years in eastern Ukraine fighting Russian proxy forces in the Donbass region in a smaller war that preceded Russia's open attack this year. It was there that he met MSgt. Reznikov, who said that his friend is a natural leader. "He was always very confident. Everyone wanted to be in his unit because it was a guarantee that you would come back alive."
In 2019, Captain Kiselov was called to Kyiv to join the SBU special operations team. "I don't know and I'm not going to tell you what they were doing there," MSgt. Reznikov said.
In his interview with The Globe in April, Captain Kiselov said that Alpha Group's role was often to operate behind enemy lines, attacking troop columns and disrupting supply lines.
Such activities became crucial after 24 February. Captain Kiselov told the Globe that he and his unit were sent to Hostomel just 24 hours before the war started. They were surprised to see 30 Russian helicopters appear over the horizon without the support of ground forces or even airstrikes to weaken the waiting Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine Is Desperate To Show Allies That The War Is Not A Lost Cause
"Their tactics did not work because they were told that there would be no resistance," Captain Kiselov recalled of the battle, in which at least three helicopters were shot down from the air and after some of the soldiers most prominent in Russia to kill or capture them. spread over the earth.
While the Russian tactics at Hostomel were surprising, what Captain Kiselov saw at Buch shocked him. MSgt. Reznikov - then a reserve member of the Territorial Defense Forces in the nearby town of Irpin who entered Bucha with his best friend - has a smartphone full of gruesome photos and videos of the they saw on April 1. The streets were blacked out. a mess of burnt vehicles and bodies, including headless torsos and severed limbs.
Captain Kiselov's family said he was completely shaken by what he saw. "He couldn't stand that they were killing civilians. He literally could not understand how it happened and why it happened," said his 31-year-old widow Alyona Kiselova, who has been living outside Ukraine with their eight-year-old daughter months old Veronika from the beginning of the war. The family returned briefly to Poltava for the funeral last week.
When Russia withdrew from the north of Kiev, that meant that the main front of the war would move from the forested outskirts of the capital to more open ground on the eastern side of Ukraine. The Globe caught up with Captain Kiselov and one of his Special Forces colleagues on April 22 while the unit was recuperating back in Kyiv. Several members suffered concussions in an artillery battle near the Russian-held town of Izjum, south of Kharkiv.
Ukraine Russia Military Operation
Captain Kiselov agreed to the interview so he could emphasize Ukraine's need for long-range artillery, which he believed would be decisive in the second phase of the war. "I don't know why this problem has taken so long," MSgt. Mr. Reznikov said
Privat group ukraine, tcm group ukraine, ukraine dating whatsapp group, alpha bank ukraine, ukraine dating telegram group, alpha dental group, scm group ukraine, fozzy group ukraine, ubc group ukraine, army group south ukraine, alpha defense group, alpha group
0 Comments