Get to know the Spetsnaz, the Russian Special Forces Who Destroyed Ukraine’s Defenses

MOSCOW – Russia officially launched its invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. Ukrainian troops were forced to defend against a larger and better armed Russian military invasion from three sides.

Reports mention that among the Russian military units crossing the Ukrainian border are the Spetsnaz. Western officials believe the Spetsnaz had spearheaded the invasion of Ukraine, breaching the border before the bombing began in the early hours of Thursday.

The Spetsnaz are a special military unit that many in Russia consider similar to the British special forces, the SAS. They have carried out missions during times of war as well as peace, in emergencies around the world.

The Spetsnaz are a Russian light infantry troop that have earned a reputation for their special skills. These troops are used by Russia in a number of major international conflicts, such as the Syrian crisis and to lead attacks against Chechen rebels.

But what exactly are their specialties and how did they earn their reputation?

Quoted from the site Forces.netSaturday (26/2/2022), Spetsnaz is an abbreviation of two words Spetsnaz is an abbreviation of two Russian words, namely spetsialnoye naznacheniya.

This first word can be translated as “special” and the second one can be translated as “purpose/function”. Add it all together and we’ll get a custom function for a specific purpose.

Spetsnaz has been carrying out “special functions for special purposes” on all continents for the last 70 years. Simply put, the Spetsnaz are a trained intervention force – the best of the Russian military and intelligence services.

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