Ukraine's SBU Alpha unit reportedly uncovered and struck a hidden FSB coordination center disguised as a beach resort in occupied Kherson, unleashing a devastating drone attack that set the facility ablaze. In this video, we break down what happened, the weapons used, the strategic impact on Russia's operations, and why this strike could mark a turning point in Ukraine's ongoing drone campaign. Watch until the end for the full analysis and subscribe for more military updates.
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Russian FSB Officers Base Discovered in Occupied Kherson
01:34 - Ukraine SBU Alpha Unit Launches 13 Drone Strike
04:14 - Ukraine FPV Drone Strike Destroying Russian Base Footage
05:53 - Ukraine FP-2 Long Range Drone Specifications and Capabilities
07:46 - Zelenskyy 40-Day Campaign Targets Russian Rear Infrastructure
13:03 - Can Ukraine Neutralize the Russian FSB Intelligence Network?
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SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/cB3mkJU5
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Russian FSB Officers Base Discovered in Occupied Kherson
01:34 - Ukraine SBU Alpha Unit Launches 13 Drone Strike
04:14 - Ukraine FPV Drone Strike Destroying Russian Base Footage
05:53 - Ukraine FP-2 Long Range Drone Specifications and Capabilities
07:46 - Zelenskyy 40-Day Campaign Targets Russian Rear Infrastructure
13:03 - Can Ukraine Neutralize the Russian FSB Intelligence Network?
Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join
#militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis
#themilitaryshow
SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/cB3mkJU5
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NewsTranscript
00:00They were all going on a lovely summer holiday, hiding away in a paradise resort deep in the
00:05occupied regions of Ukraine. Russia's FSB enjoyed some sun, sand and scheming. They thought they
00:13were being smart. Ukraine would never think to check a resort for Russian soldiers when there
00:18were so many places in the occupied territories that would seem more logical for the FSB to use.
00:23But the FSB was wrong. 100 FSB officers were hiding in a beach resort, but their vacation
00:31ended in hell. What happened when Ukraine found them was brutal and efficient. The location was
00:38Kherson, where dozens of FSB staff had set up a coordination center on the grounds of a resort
00:44in the oblast. Vehicles in their dozens were at the site, along with armed guards and checkpoints
00:49that controlled access. The FSB has also created underground shelters that surrounded their
00:55base, along with engineering barriers to prevent unauthorized personnel from gaining access.
01:00If the goal was to hide what was happening at the resort, the FSB wasn't doing a very good
01:04job. One of the most secretive organizations in Russia seemed intent on giving the game away.
01:11Perhaps they truly thought that Ukraine's powers of observation were so limited that they only
01:16needed to make minimal effort to hide their activity. Or worse for Russia, the FSB didn't
01:21care. Arrogant in their belief that they were safe. These FSB staffers may have thought that
01:26it didn't matter if there were signs of what they had turned the Kherson resort into, but
01:30they learned a harsh lesson. Boy did they learn. Ukraine discovered the location of the resort
01:36and it unleashed a firestorm. Here's what we know. Ukraine decided to fight fire with fire.
01:42The FSB is Russia's Federal Security Service. The perfect counter to the FSB is Ukraine's SVU,
01:48or Security Service of Ukraine. Like for like in duties, but not like for like in capabilities.
01:54The SBU assigned its notorious Alpha Special Operations Center to the task of destroying the FSB base.
02:01Alpha has a big reputation. According to a July 19th Defense Express report,
02:06this single unit of the SBU has recorded over 50,000 Russian troop casualties since the beginning of
02:122026. There are Russian soldiers to eliminate. This is the team that Ukraine wants to do it.
02:19Alpha didn't disappoint. Using 13 drones, the Alpha unit struck the FSB facility over and over.
02:25FSB officers who were sunning themselves at the resort felt the heat ramp right up as massive fires
02:30broke out all over the facility. This wasn't their idea of getting a tan. The resort was burned to a
02:36crisp,
02:37and in a heartbeat, the FSB's subterfuge was all over. Speaking about the strike, the SBU was
02:43straightforward in its assessment. Special forces of SBU's Alpha Special Operations Center successfully
02:49struck the coordination center and location of FSB officers, which was located in one of the boarding
02:54houses in the temporarily occupied Kherson region, it said in a telegram post. Adding that the strike
03:00was conducted as part of a 40-day plan for the SBU outlined by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a few
03:05weeks prior. We'll be coming back to that plan. It could be a game-changer in Ukraine.
03:10As for what the SBU managed to destroy, that remains the big question. We know that multiple large fires
03:16now rage at the Kherson resort. We also know how many FSB staffers the SBU believes were stationed at the
03:22resort base. Around 100 personnel and more than 70 vehicles were on the territory of the facility.
03:29The odds are high that many of those FSB staffers were casualties of the massive fires, along with
03:34vehicles being destroyed. However, Ukraine doesn't want to jump the gun on its reporting. The true scale
03:39of the damage done is still being assessed at the time of the creation of this video. What we know
03:44for sure
03:44is that Ukraine has just scored a devastating strike against the FSB, which is supposed to be filled with
03:50some of the elites of the Russian military and security services. We also know that Ukraine
03:55targeted a communications hub, which will have an impact on the front line in Kherson. It seems likely
04:01the FSB is coordinating assaults on the front and arranging special missions via its resort hideaway.
04:06Not anymore. Sun and sand have been replaced by searing flames. We also have some footage of the
04:13strike, published by the SBU on X and Telegram. The video proves every claim made about the Alpha
04:19unit and its ruthless efficiency. The SBU didn't reveal the precise date of the strike or the exact
04:25location of the resort. The Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, suggests the geolocated footage
04:31shows that it was a region called Shazlevsteva, which is about 130 kilometers away from the west bank
04:36of the Dnipro River. What we do know, thanks to the footage, is that the FSB appears to have been
04:41practically defenseless at its hidden base. Several times over, we see the viewers shot
04:46by an FPV drone as that drone comes crashing down on part of the facility. Buildings are hit,
04:51massive explosions are recorded by reconnaissance drones flying high above the target zone.
04:56Often we see the flames of one destroyed target still raging as a drone zones in on the next.
05:01One snippet of footage even shows FSB personnel running for their lives as a drone comes in for
05:06the kill. It's unlikely those FSB staff survive. The final shot is the most revealing. A reconnaissance
05:13drone hovers above the battered site, filming footage of the aftermath of Ukraine's attack.
05:18We see flames everywhere. Entire buildings have erupted into infernos. There could be no hope of
05:24escape for FSB staffers stuck in those buildings. The result has been transformed into a hellscape.
05:30Russia was going to twist a location that is supposed to bring joy to those who visit into another foul
05:35cog in Putin's infernal war machine. The SBU's alpha unit was going to sap any remaining resemblance
05:41to a resort that the base once had. Nobody will be going on vacation in this patch of Kerson anymore.
05:47And now what's left of the FSB in the region has to find a new hidey hole.
05:52As for the drones that Ukraine used, the SBU hasn't revealed anything. However, we can speculate.
05:58Due to the scale of the damage caused and the size of the explosions with each successful strike,
06:02it seems likely that FP2 drones were the weapon of choice for the devastation of the FSB's hideout.
06:08If so, this drone would have been the perfect choice. Not quite an FPV drone, but also not
06:14quite the type of jet-powered drone that Ukraine uses to strike targets inside Russia. The FP2 is a
06:19middle strike behemoth that delivers explosive firepower to any target it strikes. Developed by
06:25Firepoint and in use since 2025, the FP2 is a fixed-wing drone that has a top speed of 205
06:32kilometers per hour and an operating range of about 200 kilometers. Perfect for striking
06:38targets in the occupied territories beyond the front lines. The drone can carry a payload weighing
06:43up to 105 kilograms and it also stays in the sky for up to 2.5 hours. Again, that's perfect.
06:50An hour or so is needed to get to its max operating range and then plenty of time for adjustments
06:55before
06:56a target is struck. The Alpha unit is also very well versed in the use of these drones. A series
07:01of
07:01strikes conducted in February proves that, with those attacks seeing Alpha take out ammunition
07:06depots and command posts through the Russian rear. Those strikes are just a sample of the SBU's use
07:11of the FP2, so it makes sense that this well-known drone would be trusted to wreak havoc on the
07:16resort
07:16that the FSB used to create its communications base. Whatever the drone model used, it came in clutch
07:22in the strike against the FSB, and what the Alpha unit has just achieved has the potential to make a
07:27massive difference to the war in Ukraine. There are several reasons why, but before we dig into
07:32them, this is a quick reminder that you're watching the military show. If you're getting
07:36insight from our channel, remember to hit subscribe and ring the notification bell so you see more of
07:41our analysis of the latest Ukrainian strikes. The first of the reasons we just touched on is
07:47something we mentioned earlier in the video. This strike against the FSB was part of the 40-day
07:52campaign of strikes that Zelensky announced in June that are designed to cripple Russia's military and
07:57economic potential. That announcement was made on June 25th, meaning we're only a little more than
08:02halfway through the strikes. That will worry Russia. Ukraine is taking out large FSB communications
08:08hubs just halfway through its campaign. The Kremlin will be very concerned about what the SBU
08:13has in store for the crescendo of this dangerous campaign. And when we say dangerous, we mean in the
08:18context of a lot of Russian bases and equipment being blown to pieces. Zelensky has assigned the
08:24SBU to carry out this 40-day campaign, which primarily uses drones to strike targets in the
08:29Russian rear. Ukraine even gave an early hint of the type of targets it would strike as part of the
08:34campaign as Zelensky's announcement of it happened to coincide with attacks against an oil depot in
08:39Krasnodar Krai and strikes on a pair of oil refineries located in Ufa, which is in the Russian
08:45Republic of Bashkortistan. The message seems to be that if it's within range of SBU drones and it
08:50can be used to serve Putin's war goals, then it's a target. That's our assumption at least.
08:56Ukraine has kept the precise targets it wants to hit and the tactics it will use a secret,
09:01meaning we only know that a strike was part of the 40-day campaign after the fact and if Ukraine
09:06chooses to reveal the information. That's smart. Don't let Russia know what you're planning until FSB
09:11officers are on fire. Zelensky chose the SBU for a very specific reason when announcing this campaign.
09:18The SBU has been demonstrating the highest indicators of protecting Ukraine's positions
09:23at the front for several months in a row thanks to the use of drones of various types. The Special
09:28Operations Center, SOC Alpha, is the leader in terms of the results of destruction of personnel
09:33and equipment of the occupiers forces, he said during his announcement. So the Alpha unit was already on
09:39top of the pile when it came to Ukraine's destructive potential against Russia. It's just added a massive
09:44scalp to its collection with the burning of the FSB's resort base. What we see in this campaign is
09:50twofold. First, Ukraine has developed such a varied stockpile of drones that almost nowhere in the
09:55Russian rear is safe, be the target in occupied Ukraine or Russia itself. For example, the Ufa refinery
10:02is about 1,400 kilometers away from Ukraine. And that's the target the SBU used to launch the 40-day
10:08campaign. Kherson is much closer, obviously. And that's the point. If it's a high-value target that
10:14Russia really needs, the SBU and the Alpha unit have a drone for the job. Second, the 40-day campaign
10:20shows us just how expansive Ukraine's intelligence network has become. Remember, the FSB was supposed to
10:25be hiding in the Kherson resort. It may not have been doing a good job of it, but it was
10:29supposed to be a
10:30secret base. The SBU found it and destroyed it. That's what it's been doing for weeks now. It's
10:36target after target is struck. And beyond the targets themselves, Ukraine's intelligence is now
10:41so impressive that it's able to guide the drones it unleashes through the gaps in Russian air defenses
10:46to strike hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometers deep into Russia. That's a game-changer.
10:52It means Ukraine knows more than Russia realizes and nothing inside Russia is safe. The entire point of
10:58this 40-day campaign is to damage Russia's military and economic potential, which is what the SBU has
11:04been doing. Militarily, the SBU strikes anything that has something to do with Russian command and
11:09coordination. That's what we've just seen in Kherson. The communications hub is down the drain,
11:14which will have a huge impact on Russia's frontline forces. Economically, we see the SBU striking refineries,
11:20oil depots, transport hubs, and shadow fleet tankers in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. This is all oil
11:27and
11:27fuel that Russia can't export. And even if these products weren't meant to be sold abroad and were
11:33instead for domestic use, Russia loses money. Burning oil and fuel has to be replaced and that
11:39doesn't come cheap. This type of pressure is starting to pay off. Ukraine's campaign against
11:44Russian fuel has led to shortages all over Russia and the occupied territories, particularly in Crimea,
11:50which is being increasingly isolated. The 40-day campaign is part of a pressure operation that is
11:55forcing Putin to look at what awaits his soldiers and his people in the winter. The fuel burns now,
12:02and Ukraine will follow up with strikes against energy infrastructure as the weather gets colder.
12:06There is an element of self-interest for Ukraine here too. Ukraine is a cold country in the winter,
12:12and Russia has taken advantage of that with its own strikes against the Ukrainian energy grid.
12:16The winter of 2025 was particularly difficult for Ukraine, as Russian strikes knocked out electricity
12:22and heating for huge swathes of the population, often for days at a time. For Ukraine, pressure now
12:28could pay off by forcing Putin to the table, perhaps preventing another difficult winter.
12:34Ukraine is leading into the advantages it has with its 40-day campaign. It's ahead of Russia
12:39technologically, as the emergence of AI-powered drones shows us. Drone-based air defense is also another
12:45advantage that Ukraine holds. That tech is coming to the fore now, and the SBU and especially the Alpha
12:51unit are showcasing how it can be used. So the continuation of the 40-day campaign is a major
12:56reason why this strike is a potential game-changer for Ukraine. Another lies in what Ukraine struck,
13:02the FSB. Officially, the FSB is a federal executive body that works to protect Russia itself. Issues of
13:09national security, counter-terrorism and the protection of state borders all fall under the FSB's remit,
13:15as does the protection of Putin against the threats, both real and imagined,
13:19that Putin sees in the shadows. None of these duties involve attacking Ukraine,
13:23but the FSB has been doing just that, marking a departure from what the organization is supposed
13:28to be about. The reality of the FSB's work is much murkier than Russia claims.
13:34Thanks to an August 2022 report by Business Insider, we know that the FSB was preparing since at least
13:392019 for the full invasion of Ukraine, and it had quintupled in size between then and 2022.
13:46Protection of Russian interests isn't the real goal of the FSB. Aggression against Ukraine is,
13:52at least for as long as it takes for Russia to subjugate Ukraine.
13:55Since Putin invaded, the FSB has evolved from a civilian organization into a military one.
14:00King's College London points out that FSB officers won't be on the front lines.
14:05Instead, they engage in far more malevolent activities, often deep in the Ukrainian or Russian
14:09rear. In Ukraine, the FSB sends spies to uncover whatever they can to aid in Russia's war effort.
14:15In the Russian rear, both inside Russia and occupied Ukraine, FSB agents often engage in
14:20what the college calls the filtration of Ukrainian citizens. This involves identifying potential
14:26collaborators and attempting to remove anybody who could be a danger to Russia from the streets.
14:31The FSB engages in torture, data mining, and social media account inspection,
14:36all to learn as much as it can and to provide evidence of its false convictions against Ukrainian
14:41citizens. In short, the FSB has become a cancer within Ukraine. That's its job now,
14:47to be a malignant force that exists to hurt Ukraine rather than protect Russia.
14:51By taking out the FSB facility in Karsan, Ukraine has just struck a blow against one of the shadiest
14:57organizations that Russia has operating on its territory. Ukraine will be hoping that FSB
15:02officers were engulfed in the flames along with the buildings. Every officer down is a well-trained
15:08professional Russian spy who is very difficult to replace. Even if most of the 100 or so personnel
15:14at the Karsan resort survive, they've lost communications equipment and perhaps key data.
15:19This creates opportunities for Ukraine. Future strikes that the FSB may have once seen coming can
15:25now be carried out. Plans for assaults against Ukraine have gone up in smoke. For a while at least,
15:30the FSB has become a non-factor in Karsan. And speaking of this region, which has been
15:35partially occupied by Russia since the beginning of the invasion, Ukraine wants to limit the
15:40effectiveness of Russia in Karsan as much as possible. Stripping away the FSB presence in
15:45Karsan is a great step. It's also the latest in several under-reported moves that Ukraine has been
15:50making to weaken Russia in Karsan. Reuters reported in late June that the puppet governor of Karsan,
15:56Vladimir Saldo, has claimed that the Russian-occupied territories in the region
16:00were now without power due to Ukraine's strikes against fuel and energy infrastructure.
16:05In its July 20th report on the state of Russia's offensive, the ISW said that neither Russian
16:10nor Ukrainian sources had reported any movement on the ground in Karsan. That's good for Ukraine.
16:16It suggests a stalemate was already in place before the attack on the FSB facility. Now that facility is
16:23done, Ukraine may have created opportunities for pushing back. At the very least, it's bought time to
16:28strengthen fortifications as Russian soldiers on the front panic and delay assaults due to
16:33communication with their FSB masters being cut off. Ultimately, what the SBU and its Alpha unit have
16:39just shown Russia is that it can't hide anything away from Ukraine. Whatever Russia tries to hide,
16:44Ukraine will always find. Around 100 FSB staff just learned that the hard way. They were enjoying
16:51themselves a nice little summer vacation in occupied Karsan, but they're at war and Ukraine just sent them a
16:56lethal reminder of that fact. Ukraine has a habit of locating what Russia tries to hide and then sending
17:02drones to destroy it. The same thing happened in Donetsk just a few days before the Karsan strike.
17:08There, Russia was hiding a fuel depot in an abandoned concrete factory. Ukraine found it and unleashed
17:14Operation Hell to destroy it.
17:16If you enjoyed this analysis of Ukraine's latest victory over Russia in the FSB, then make sure you
17:23subscribe to the military show to see what we have coming next. And thank you for watching.
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