And now where the government in Kiev
is claiming a, quote,
partial success
in its counteroffensive against Russia,
according to the deputy defense minister.
Ukrainian troops
have made advances on two fronts.
That includes
toward the besieged city of Mount
Salem them.
CNN's Sam Kiley spoke exclusively
with the Ukrainian
special ops team in part
on their efforts to tame Russian troops.
Watch this. It's fascinating
So a Special Forces night operation,
the objective
to bring
a special kind of misery
to Russian troops.
As they arrived alongside Ukrainian
regulars, the Russians attacked
a night vision recording of a routine
assault
that the Special Forces
needed to shrug off.
How long did you spend
under fire like this before
you could move the Capitol proposals?
But have Coppola chosen?
And then what did you do for the room?
My
son is in
this
neighborhood earlier
the risk to Russian
electronic surveillance
pinpointed their victims.
First, they killed two paratroopers
approaching on their left flank
to get to the group's main targets.
Russian commanders near back mount
a sterile
record of an all
too gritty event in March.
First, one officer is shot.
Then another down.
He says radio intercepts revealed
that the Russians lost two officers
and five others
to their sniper team that night.
The system
also reduces all of the military bases.
This is good for business.
And it was designed to serve because
without you and your senior you,
you can never recover.
Due community
formed when Russia invaded
Ukraine last year.
This team of experienced
veterans works in a secret realm
under the intelligence services
that tasked with tactical work
seeking strategic effect
as Ukraine's counter offensive
takes shape
here.
Using a modified heavy machine gun
in a hidden bunker
last month close to back most notably
the of drone operators
more than a mile away
are directing Brabus onto Russian troops
How many Russians
have you killed in this war?
A lot of
a lot of
what for example,
kills a lot of Russians.
This is when you're on this list
for this country.
How many more or less than
them will
Well, we didn't calculate the.
It's the Russians.
They want to do the counting
because Ukraine's best hope
is that
Russian troops run rather than fight.
And Sam Kiley joins me now.
Sam, remarkable access,
just a simply fascinating report.
What more did you learn about the
Ukrainian counteroffensive?
Well, John, I think
the important thing
about the counter-offensive is,
first of all, that it's underway.
It's underway
not yet in full swing
where it's most intense.
And the newest
front opening up really is in the south
between Zappa and Donetsk cities.
As a is,
of course, Ukrainian held tonight
is held by the Russians,
where the Ukrainians are saying
and claiming
that they've had
a few limited breakthroughs
on that very heavily defended Russian
line there.
And they are
anxious really
to break through completely
because if they can do that,
they can separate the southern front
from the eastern front.
They can divide Russian forces
as they drive
south towards
the occupied Crimean peninsula.
And that would represent
a very significant tactical gain
for the Ukrainians.
But at this stage,
they're only making
incremental gains there.
But there are also around Barmouth,
where Brabus and his team
have been fighting
and carrying out those hits
effectively against senior Russian
officers.
There have also been
some Ukrainian advances
that would allow them to perhaps
even develop something
tactically useful
into strategic advantage John.
Sam Kiley, again, remarkable reporting.
Grateful for it. Thank you.