‘Died for the sake of media coverage’: a participant in the Ukrainian landing on Tendrovskaya Spit shared details of the raid

In Russia, a video has been published recounting the story of a Ukrainian military serviceman who was the sole survivor after an unsuccessful landing on Tendrovskaya Spit in the Kherson region and was taken prisoner.

The footage appeared on the Telegram channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense. 

The channel reports that the individual is Senior Sailor Yevhen Horyn, a serviceman of the 73rd Marine Special Operations Center of the Ukrainian Navy.

The man described the details of the raid. According to him, the operation aimed to capture the Tendrovskaya lighthouse. Horyn recounted that Ukrainian military personnel were moving on four high-speed boats. When the machine gun on the central boat started firing, it came under fire. The commander ordered a retreat when the boats were 100 meters from the target.

Two boats withdrew, while the other two came under fire, resulting in the injury and death of members of the landing party. Horyn himself was shot at but survived and decided to surrender.

“They threw the group into the slaughter and reported: heroically died. For the sake of publicity,” said Horyn, while in captivity.

Ukraine has not confirmed the authenticity of the video. Earlier, Russians claimed that 20 Ukrainian military personnel died in this operation.

The Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces only confirmed the death of special forces soldiers from the 73rd Marine Special Operations Center, without specifying their number. It was reported that they were providing cover for the retreat of the main force group after completing their combat mission.