Ukrainian special forces obtain targets from CIA satellite – Times – RT Russia and former Soviet Union
The data is being used to launch drone attacks against Russian servicemen, a unit commander told the outlet.
Soldiers from Ukraine’s “Thor” special operations group use satellite data provided by the CIA to choose targets when carrying out drone strikes against Russian forces, the unit’s commander told The Times.
The 27-man group, which is officially a police special operations unit, operates independently of the Ukrainian military and works closely with Ukrainian military intelligence, the GUR, which provides them with ammunition and intelligence. According to the Times, the unit has full license to select its missions, where it barracks and when it fights.
The unit’s commander, whose name is also believed to be Thor, claims that he uses a special app on a tablet that is synchronized with a CIA satellite to select potential targets for their attacks.
“We select targets in the program, and targets can be placed there both by the CIA satellite and by our own satellite, which our volunteers pay for. Information is collected here from all kinds of sources. We choose, then we come in and do our own reconnaissance,” Thor told the outlet.
Another member of the group told The Times that Thor also intentionally used drones to maim — rather than kill — Russian military personnel. “These are to hurt the Russians”, Aleksander, 30, told The Times as he armed a 3D-printed drone with mining explosives. “Take an arm or a leg, it will forever be a burden on the state”, he said.
According to the Times, all members of Thor are veterans of Ukraine’s 2014 military operation against anti-kyiv rebels in the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Both territories, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, were incorporated into Russia last year following public referendums.
Moscow has long accused the United States and its allies of being directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict and of essentially carrying out a “proxy war” against Russia by continuing to supply Kiev forces with increasingly sophisticated weapons, ammunition and intelligence.
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