Defence Intelligence special unit commander reveals details of operations on the Black Sea

A skirmish between Ukrainian gunboats and a Russian military aircraft occurred in the Black Sea near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island – in the area of the so-called "Boyko towers" – on Tuesday, 22 August. [The Boyko towers are the gas drilling platforms B312 Petro Hodovanets (built in 2010) and B319 Ukraina (built in 2012) off the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea. Russia captured them in 2014. Procuring floating gas production rigs caused a public outcry due to the possible violation of Ukrainian laws and vast misappropriation of public funds by Yurii Boyko, former Ukrainian Energy Minister and pro-Russian politician.

Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (DIU) reported that Ukrainian forces fired a missile from a combat boat, damaging the Russian aircraft. The aircraft was forced to leave the scene and head for the nearest airfield. The Ukrainian military suffered no losses, as stated by the DIU.

Meanwhile, Russian propaganda sources presented the clash as if Russian airstrikes had destroyed two high-speed military boats carrying Ukrainian landing forces.

Ukrainska Pravda has discovered the exclusive details of this special operation by the DIU, which was the work of DIU special unit Artan. 

Artan has performed dozens of sophisticated operations. The details of most missions won’t be revealed until after Ukraine’s victory. Nevertheless, some of them, along with details of the nature of the special unit's work, have been shared by its commander, Viktor Torkotiuk, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.

14 hours at sea

"This is one of the most extreme operations we have conducted on the Black Sea and on the legal territory of Ukraine as of 1991," says Major Viktor Torkotiuk. "I will not disclose the details of the operation, but I can say this: Thank God we did not lose anyone, that’s the most important thing for us. None of the vessels were damaged, and we accomplished all our assigned tasks."

However, the Artan commander did tell us one revealing story from the operation. It showcases their human determination and team values.

"A Special Forces officer with the alias 'Konan' fell overboard during the operation, finding himself alone in the Black Sea. Just imagine it: alone in the open sea, with no idea where to go or when help will arrive, but with a clear understanding that his unit are not the only ones looking for him, he is also an enemy target.

He was in the water for 14 hours, but rather than waiting where he was for help, he managed to swim in the right direction. How resolute and strong of spirit you must need to be to pull yourself together and swim towards safety. He is now a legend not only in our unit but, I imagine, in all [Ukrainian] Special Forces units."

Torkotiuk explains that Konan ended up alone as the rest of the team was forced to retreat as they were under heavy fire from Russian aircraft. But once they reached a safe zone and received reinforcements, the soldiers immediately headed back:

"The whole team, regardless of the risks, kept looking for our brother-in-arms. After a several-hour long search, aerial reconnaissance managed to find him. From that moment onwards, the drone monitored him continuously. 

Our unit’s boats were trying to get to Konan while under heavy fire from Russian jets, which, one after another, approached the area of the search and rescue operation, attempting to sabotage it. Eventually the guys managed to break through, and our soldier was evacuated. He knew that his brothers-in-arms would come back for him."

How Artan was created

Viktor Torkotiuk readily admits that he never wanted to be a commander. As part of the 130th Battalion in the ATO, he served as part of a group under the command of others. [The ATO or Anti-Terrorist Operation is a term used from 2014 to 2018 by the media, the government of Ukraine and the OSCE to identify combat actions in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts against Russian military forces and pro-Russian separatists – ed.]

"I understand how much easier it is compared to being a commander and leading so many people," he says. "I care about people so much that I'm susceptible to everything; I try to do everything I can for them. It's much easier when you are alone or commanding a small unit. I command 305 people now, and I'll have 500 shortly, as people keep joining us."

Torkotiuk was in charge of a small group when the full-scale Russian invasion began. They were deployed in Kyiv Oblast – in the city of Vasylkiv and on the Zhytomyr motorway.

"That's pretty much it. We were also assigned to different areas, depending on the tasks. When we liberated [the settlement of] Dmytrivka, there were children there. We took them out of the basements, fed them, and then evacuated them.

It's impossible to describe their feelings at that moment. They were delighted to see us. They hugged and kissed us and took pictures. These were pleasant moments. The Russians were still in [the city of] Irpin, and we had been coming in from the Zhytomyr motorway to encircle them."

The group grew over time. Viktor got calls from his friends, primarily athletes with whom he had been in touch before:

"They said, 'We are willing to fight, take us'. And I did. When there were 30 people, I thought, well, that's enough. But then I started getting calls from other people, and from the DIU: 'We have people willing to fight,' and they sent them to me."

The Artan unit was formed between late spring and early summer last year, consisting of 112 people. It used to be a company, and now it's a battalion.

The name Artan derives from Arthania, a state formation of ruthless and invincible warriors, which, as some medieval historians believe, lived on the territory of modern Ukraine.

About 70% of the unit's personnel are athletes.

"Given the specific nature of our unit – special and assault operations – of course, you must be physically fit," says the commander. "Back when I was in the ATO, a deep reconnaissance company in the 130th reconnaissance battalion, we often went behind the contact line. Naturally, we had some cases when physical fitness mattered a lot. Being fit and well-trained makes you much more confident. It helps a lot in life and war."

The unit follows a disciplined physical training regime. It comprises workouts, sport and a rule of no smoking and drinking – the major says violators are expelled.

"We have strict requirements: no alcohol, and you need to pass a polygraph, a recruitment test, a medical examination and physical training - and only then will we decide whether you are accepted. Although this was different initially - everyone was allowed in the unit. Showing up was sufficient as we needed to get on with fighting and performing operations," the officer recalls.

The Artan commander says the queue of people trying to join is still long. New men come,  and they often bring more with them. They are all like the first guy’s family. 

"We are a strongly motivated unit. Say I need 30 people for an operation. It may be a one-way operation, but 180 guys will agree to go. People get upset when they’re not chosen to go, and I have to choose. There is a lot depending on the commander."

The funerals are the most painful moments of the war, Viktor admits:

"It is always incredibly tough. We always go to funerals with the whole unit together, everybody. This is an unbreakable rule. We take a knee and give our flag. And all the relatives of the deceased constantly thank us. Just imagine! We were at the funerals of their sons, husbands and fathers."

"The Russian forces just ran away from us"

Viktor Torkotiuk remembers all the successful operations he has executed, but he is most proud of the operation "on the other side" when Artan went deep into Russian territory.

"It was a memorable operation," he says. "I can't tell you many details. But I can say that we killed one of the senior officers there. The guys were extremely well-oriented, acted decisively, and demonstrated what I always wanted from them – teamwork. There were up to 100 people from the Artan battalion. They did what almost no one else had done."

This was the first time such a large number of soldiers had carried out an operation on Russian territory. The Major recounted how shocked his foreign colleagues were when they found out about it. 

"They didn't believe it. They asked: "Viktor, what was the plan?". Of course, we never tell them our plans. I say, "We always have the same plan. We go and look at the place." They say that this is not possible, you need aviation, and so on... I tell them: what aviation? We bought five horses for the operation... they were shocked. And we succeeded, the Russian forces just ran away from us."

Of course, there is always a plan, Torkotiuk says. 

"I'm exaggerating a little. This is how Budanov did things back in the Joint Forces Operation days – let's go, and then we'll see, we can adjust something. I say, there is a checkpoint, and he replies – Yes, we will solve everything there. But there is always a plan. Every soldier in the unit knows what they're doing. But there is nothing like what NATO countries are used to – the same British or American forces would have to have aviation cover and aerospace intelligence assistance for such operations.

Now we are going out to sea, far away, where no one has gone before. If they did this, it would be with support from a cruiser... We don't have this. We do everything quietly, by ourselves in boats, ten people to each one. Their Su fighter aircraft fly over us, but we still go out and do our job. Because the commander knows that the task must be completed, and this is what distinguishes us from many others – we complete tasks. We use non-standard methods, but we do it." 

Artan has been in many fighting hot spots during the war. 

"Where there is a contact zone, there is us – in the East, South, everywhere. We were in Bakhmut, two rotations. Both in the city itself and near it, the Chasiv Yar - Konstiantynivka highway was controlled by us so that no one would go there, – says Viktor Torkotiuk. - We participated in many special operations. They mostly involved the enemy’s side. 

He calls Bakhmut one of the most challenging and terrible theatres of the full-scale invasion:

"We have never seen such density of fire as was there. 

We were in Bakhmut for three months, from December to the end of February. Then we came back. Our specifics are that when problems arise in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we go and strengthen them, help them, and perform special operations. They appeal to the DIU, and the DIU determines which unit to use and where it will work: ours or other legendary units: Battalion Shaman, Kraken, Tymur's special forces, Legion etc."

Read also: Kraken attacks: the story of the Defence Intelligence unit that the Russians have demonised

The commander assures us that his unit follows the example of the best. And is always ready to perform the most challenging operations:

"There was Bakhmut, there were operations on the Zaporizhzhia front. That summer, we went to Enerhodar, we didn't have any support – and we left. We went in and landed. So what? Command: "Get Out". All right, let's go. But we came in with fighting spirit. 

Now the operations are at sea. No one else is there. And no one does these kinds of operations. But our approach is simple: "If it’s necessary, then we will do it." Otherwise, who will?"

Becoming a warrior

Viktor Torkotiuk was born in Azerbaijan. At the time, his father, a military man originally from Vinnytsia Oblast, was serving there. Then, the family moved to Zhmerynka in Vinnytsia Oblast. At the age of 10, he started getting involved in sports: football and karate. Then he started military school in Kryvyi Rih, where he boxed professionally. 

Later, he transferred to the Odesa Institute of Ground Forces. There he started practising Muay Thai boxing with coach Pavlo Yevtushenko. 

"While I was involved in boxing, Pavlo Yevtushenko came to advertise Muay Thai. It was 1997, – Victor recalls. – I liked it. It was a very tough sport, elbows and knees were actively used, and I really got into it. When I started at the Military School in Kryvyi Rih in 1994, I had no money, and I was small and thin. There were constant fights...but I was hardened for life.

I still do Muay Thai, even while away with the military. I have pads for all our soldiers [Equipment for practising martial arts moves – ed.] Pavlo Serhiiovych continues to train, even though he is already the Ukrainian Muay Thai Federation president."

Viktor Torkotiuk won a bronze medal at the world championship in Muay Thai in 2019 at the age of 39. He holds the title of Master of Sports, International Class, and heads the Vinnytsia Regional Thai Boxing Federation. 

He had dreamed of joining the military since childhood: 

"I like discipline. I like military uniforms. My father is a military man, and my deceased mother was a military woman, so I was drawn to it, I had a talent. I wanted to be a military man, and I think thanks to God I became one."

Since 2016, he fought in the Joint Forces Operation. At first, he participated in combat operations as a volunteer, and in 2018 signed a contract with the 130th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion. 

The Ukrainian army was changing in front of his eyes:

"I remember what the army was like when I was studying in the late 90s. It was very hard to look at. During the Joint Forces Operation, the army began to improve. And those years of fighting strengthened the army. And we helped everyone understand that we need a strong army. 

Now, the army is improving. It's hard, but the process is underway. And, God willing, it will be even better. We have proved to the whole world that we can fight." 

"Sometimes it's easier with my battalion than with my children"

Torkotiuk has four children. 

"My wife and I have been together for 18 years. When the full-scale war began, she did not leave, although it was difficult. I have beautiful children: two older daughters and two energetic sons, 7 and 4 years old. They are the most difficult part of all this. Sometimes it's easier for me with my battalion than with them, – he laughs. – We are fighting for them. We are fighting for our holy land and our families. We are doing this so that our children don't have to see the things that we see. And we will do anything for that."

His eldest son already wants to be an officer.

Of course, the kids miss their dad very much. It is good that there are phones and we can have video calls.

"I get filled in on everything: Kyrylo’s school, the pool Yehor goes to, – Victor laughs. – For me, family is such a driving force. I've become a bit more sentimental about children lately because of the War. When I see videos with children, it is very difficult for me. It makes me feel even more hatred for the enemy".

A surprise on the TV

Ukrainians first learned about Artan after one of the president's appeals: Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally mentioned the unit and the commander. This was a big surprise for Viktor Torkotiuk.

"I was on vacation after a difficult operation which involved a visit to enemy territory, – Torkotiuk recalls. – I was released back to my family. Kyrylo Oleksiiovych (Budanov) calls and says in a friendly manner: "Look at the president's address." I ask, "Are they giving you an order?" and he replied: "No, it’s something better." 

I look - and the president was talking about Artan. They mentioned me, too. This has never happened before. I was delighted that the unit was mentioned. And this is very important for the guys, it’s a big boost! My kids were very proud. My daughter came up and hugged me."

People, Torkotiuk says, should know the price of victory. 

"Our fighters do such incredible things... they pack dark chocolate and a bottle of water – and go on killing missions. It's important to talk about that."

Roksana Kasumova, for Ukrainska Pravda

Translation: Artem Yakymyshyn and Yuliia Kravchenko

Editing: Bea Barnes