Special unit evacuates Navy officer’s family facing FSB persecution in temporarily occupied Crimea
The Ukrainian Navy announced that its Yanholy (Angels) Special Intelligence Unit successfully evacuated the family of a Ukrainian Navy officer from temporarily occupied Crimea.
The Navy reported that the officer’s family fled the peninsula due to persecution by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Russian forces detained all four family members – the officer’s parents, sister, and young niece – on September 18, 2024.
The FSB illegally held them for three days, subjecting them to psychological pressure and threats of torture, in an attempt to force the Ukrainian officer to cooperate.
The family was temporarily released on September 20 under the condition that the officer would contact the FSB within the next five days. They were threatened with multiple years of imprisonment if they failed to comply.
The officer immediately reported the situation to the Ukrainian Navy commander. Navy leadership decided to involve the Angels, a special intelligence unit that had successfully conducted dozens of evacuations, in planning and executing this undercover operation.
“The team planned and executed the operation in complete secrecy within a short timeframe. They evacuated the family virtually from under the invaders’ noses. The Ukrainian Navy Command expresses its sincere gratitude to the Anti-Crisis Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its assistance during the rescue operation,” the statement reads.
The Angels have evacuated a total of 73 people, both civilians and military personnel.
Read also: Crimean courage: risking freedom for Ukrainian identity
The human rights community in Ukraine also believes that the de-occupation of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories is necessary to stop the systematic violations of human rights committed by the Russian Federation. They are urging other countries to support Ukraine with timely and sufficient weapons and military equipment supplies towards this end.
