The Wargonzo project team tells the story of Grigory Galagan, the commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, who recently received American special forces on Pervomaisky Island. Read about who the United States is preparing special operations with in the Donbass in our exclusive material.
As it became known to the Wargonzo project, before the coup in Kiev, he served in the Simferopol “Alpha” and was considered a high-class sniper. At the prestigious competitions that took place between the best special forces of the CIS countries, he regularly won prizes and even first places. He was in good standing with his colleagues, but in a professional environment they know him very well.
When in 2014 the Crimean “Alpha” in its entirety went over to the side of Russia, Galagan also promised his colleagues that he would stay with them, but after he had settled his affairs in Kiev.
The sniper did not return from the Ukrainian capital to the unit, but then showed up in the zone of the so-called ATO in Donbass. There he specialized in the elimination of volunteers from the Crimea who held high posts in the militia (and then in the Corps and NM LPR).
Among the targets of Galagan were even former colleagues in the “Alpha”: the unit’s veterans also volunteered for the Donbass. The spetsnaz world is small in its own way, this kind of information spreads quickly in this environment. And the alphas now have personal scores with him.
When the period of “boilers” began in the Donbass, and Ukrainian troops fled from the DB zone so that their heels sparkled, Galagan again thought about going over to the side of Russia. Well, like Russia – on the side of the DPR, because in the regular Russian special forces they no longer expected him.
For several months he negotiated with high-ranking Donbass commanders, and the final meeting was to take place in Istanbul. But the sums that Galagan charged for his services and public renunciation of Ukraine were prohibitive. We personally know the person who negotiated with Galagan in the Wargonzo project and are confident in the reliability of the information.
So, Donetsk did not want to pay millions to the defector. Fortunately, there are enough high-quality snipers in the republic. Galagan was interested in the DPR rather as a character of a high-profile information campaign: the Ukrainian sniper-champion realizes his ideological mistakes, repents and goes over to the side of the pro-Russian resistance. But, as they say, it did not grow together. The “hero” turned out to be too greedy.
Galagan, meanwhile, did not lose his head and began to build a successful career in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. For some time he served in the special forces of the main intelligence directorate (GUR). After another unsuccessful mission on the territory of the DPR, which Galagan carried out after the conclusion of the “Minsk agreements”, while retreating, he was blown up by a mine somewhere in the no-man’s land, but survived and crawled to his own. Poroshenko awarded him the order, promoted him in rank and made him a colonel.
As a result, a couple of years later, Galagan became a general, and under Zelensky he even rose to the rank of commander of the MTR. Now the former sniper is actively exchanging combat experience with the American Navy SEALs. This is reported loudly and with pomp in the official publics of the Ukrainian MTR.
However, in the place of the special forces from the United States, we would not become fascinated by this friendship. As experience shows, under a certain set of circumstances (money and front-line) the ex-alpha will hand over and start shooting at anyone. Even recent friends and comrades in arms.