NYT: Budanov Belongs To Elite Unit Trained By CIA

The details of his raid in the occupied Crimea have become known.

The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, was a member of the elite unit of "Detachment 2245", which was trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency.

According to The New York Times article, Budanov was one of the officers in the unit that captured Russian drones and communications equipment so that CIA technicians could repurpose them and crack encryption systems.

"General Budanov was a rising star in Unit 2245. He was known for daring operations behind enemy lines and had deep ties to the CIA. The agency trained him and took the extraordinary step of sending him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland for rehabilitation after he was shot in the right arm during fighting in Donbass," the journalists wrote.

During one of the operations, Budanov, disguised in a Russian uniform, landed in occupied Crimea, ferrying fighters across the narrow bay by inflatable boats. On the peninsula, the Ukrainian fighters were met by an elite unit of Russian special forces. During the battle, the occupants suffered losses - a son of a Russian general was among those killed. The Ukrainian group then retreated to the coastline and sailed for several hours to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The partnerships were so successful that the CIA wanted to repeat it with other European intelligence agencies focused on countering Russia, the newspaper said.