00:00Hide the boat! Faster! Take cover!
00:07A Russian drone is threatening us.
00:10It's just in front of us.
00:12What started as an exercise has become now a serious situation.
00:17We're tracking the drone.
00:19We have to move.
00:23The Russians know how important these training sessions are to Ukraine's forces.
00:28Ukraine has a nearly 600 km water border that needs to be defended against Russian aggression.
00:35This is why special units like this one are crucial for Ukraine's military.
00:40Despite this being a training exercise, conditions simulate real case scenarios.
00:46And given the fact that the country is at war, a real attack can happen any time.
00:52These Ukrainian soldiers are putting themselves into difficult situations
00:57so they can react instinctively as a team, without making a sound.
01:05The most difficult thing is saving the wounded, evacuating them
01:09and delivering them to a medical facility under enemy drone and aviation threat.
01:14Covertly evacuating someone in an aquatic environment is the worst case scenario.
01:21This naval special forces unit has to be able to do that and much more
01:26as part of its job defending Ukraine's water borders.
01:33The Russian fleet could disembark thousands of troops anywhere along the coastline.
01:39If we don't have appropriate weapons and personnel,
01:42they could occupy cities like Odessa, cutting Ukraine off from the Black Sea.
01:49Our strategic routes pass through the sea.
01:54We can't win the war without access to the Black Sea.
02:00We have to keep control of this region.
02:06The unit also includes divers, who risk their lives in waters littered with mines.
02:13Each operation is a challenge.
02:15We often go in first to check the bottom, the coast and part of the land area
02:20to detect enemy observation posts or avoid detection.
02:26Each location and job is new.
02:29We divers need better equipment to detect mines
02:32and minimize underwater time in enemy territory.
02:36Current detection means are only short range, requiring close proximity to the enemy.
02:41We need tools for longer underwater travel to avoid putting our boats at risk.
02:46This would allow us to operate 10 to 15 kilometers from the enemy shore.
02:53Navigating their way through mines when they get to shore is also crucial.
02:59Some of these men were involved in liberating Snake Island and the fight for Mariupol.
03:05One told us he survived the minefields only to be caught by the Russians.
03:14I was in captivity for many months.
03:17The Russians knew everything about me, my rank, position in unit.
03:22Because of this we were treated specially, subjected to torture.
03:28I realized our enemy has no humanity or mercy.
03:31When I returned, I was determined to fight again,
03:35knowing the human body can withstand incredible things.
03:40And now he is fighting again, back with his unit.
03:46These men are young, committed and extremely motivated,
03:51but they say they are not enough.
03:55I think it's impossible to change the course of war.
03:58In order to change the course of this large-scale war,
04:02much more effort is needed from the leadership of our country.
04:06For example, a new law on mobilization.
04:10Because there are not enough people, we have losses.
04:14I'm no longer talking about our troops only, but about the infantry.
04:18We have losses.
04:22These men might be the sharpest of the enemy.
04:26These men might be the sharp tip of the Ukrainian armed forces.
04:31Yet they worry that without more and better weapons,
04:35and more people behind them, all this could be in vain.
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