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Russian special forces destroyed a group of the UAF Special Operations Forces. The commander of the 73rd special operations unit was captured.
Special Operations Forces are the elite units of any army in the world. Millions of US dollars are spent on training each fighter.
The total number of the SFO of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not exceed 600 servicemen, of which no more than 200 military personnel take part in special operations. The use of these specialists as ordinary sabotage-reconnaissance group is either incompetence or a result of an extreme necessity or betrayal of the Ukrainian command.
Almost all military personnel of the SOF have officer ranks, regardless of their position, but depending on their personal qualifications. The death of SOF fighters during special operations happens on a regular basis, but capture is an isolated case in world military history.
It is difficult to remember when a captured SOF officer was filmed testifying on his service history, evaluating the action of the command and calling for the cessation of resistance.
In recent years, many countries have deliberately blurred the term of Special Operations Forces in order to hide the real number of highly qualified saboteurs on the one hand, and to rally combat-ready motivated units designed to perform complex tasks at the army level under this brand on the other hand. That is why, for example, the Military Balance 2021 and 2020 provided an estimate of the composition of the special forces of the Russian Federation at 1,000 military personnel, and the United States at 63,000 military personnel. At the same time, other sources indicate the number of the SOF of the Russian Federation around 12500-14000, including the army special forces under the jurisdiction of the GRU. Obviously, the both are wrong. Talking specifically about the SOF of the two most belligerent countries in the world, then the estimate of the total number of the Russian SOF of about 1,000 military personnel and the US SOF of about 2,500 military personnel seems objective. In the case of Ukraine, even the total number of 600 actual military personnel, including support personnel, seems to be an optimistic assumption.
The military personnel of the SOF are specialists of sabotage and counter-sabotage operations, who have deep knowledge not only in warcraft, but also in intelligence, regional studies, engineering specialties, psychology and much more.
The behavior of the AFU officer on the provided video is a vivid example. A native of Western Ukraine holds conversation in Russian without an accent or a characteristic dialect, demonstrates a quick and conscious reaction to the questions asked by a specialist who interrogated him on camera, while observing the “rules of the game”. It can be seen that his level is quite high.
