Why were Russian “Black Ops” Spetsnaz, Special-Forces units, at the crash site of the Polish President’s plane, on April 10, 2010, in Smolensk, Russia?
SCND November 25, 2014
The first reports about the presence of the Spetsnaz1 operatives at the crash site of the Polish government plane Tu-154M, appeared already at 10:23 a.m., on April 10, 2010.
TVP INFO journalist Peter Kraśko reported live: "Crowds of firemen, police, [Special-Forces] Spetsnaz troops are walking by us." The aircraft, a Russian-built Tupolev TU-154M crashed at 8:41 a.m.2
Above: April 10, 2010. A Spetsnaz unit moving towards the place of the tragedy around 11:00 a.m. In the background we can see a fire truck near the gas station, and a KIA car dealership.
Above: April 10, 2010, 11:30 a.m., a Spetsnaz helicopter lands at the site of the crash.
Above: A Specnaz helicopter during 2013 exercises in Smolensk.
Above: Around 1:00 p.m.
Spetsnaz units at the crash site
Above: Pictures taken by the reporters and witnesses confirm presence of the Spetsnaz Special-Forces soldiers cordoning off the crash site.
Above: Photos in the bottom row show soldiers wearing maroon berets.
The term "Krapowyi Beret" (rus. краповый берет, Maroon Beret) is the original Russian name given to the special “Black Ops” commando formations that wear the maroon/burgundy-color berets. Members of these units are part of an elite team selected from a pool of Special-Forces operators based on strictest criteria for physical and intellectual fitness.
The "Krapoviy Beret" name is synonymous with being part of an elite group of commandos. Achieving this status is rare and signifies a privilege of belonging to the best of the best. The mere presence of these “Black Ops” Special-Forces units at the site of the plane crash, just after it was announced, is at best peculiar.
In his speech on October 10, 2009, six months before the Smolensk crash, Rashid Gumarovich Nurgaliyev (Russian: Рашид Гумарович Нургалиев), RF Minister of Internal Affairs stated:
The right to wear the maroon berets [...] is the right to carry out the most dangerous and most difficult tasks, related primarily to the rescue of people in the most difficult of situations. Internal [security] troops carry out complex tasks associated with global threats.3
Above: Russian Spetsnaz commando men at Kutuzow Street, and below, at the crash site.
A stylized silver falcon icon, on a black background, is the badge of the 25th Spetsnaz Branch unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Troops stationed in Smolensk.
This "Falcon" badge is also worn by the Spetsnaz units from Kostrov, Bryansk, Orel, Sfrino, and Moscow, as well as all Special-Forces units under jurisdiction of the regional internal troops command and control headquarters. In the final MAK Report, on page 101, Chapter 1.15, entitled “Search and Rescue Information” we read that the ”search and rescue measures at the accident site were conducted by the Ministry of Extraordinary Affairs, Regional Search and Rescue Service, municipal and federal administrations”.
The MAK Report conceals the presence of the Spetznaz units at the crash site, and omits the fact of their direct link with the Minister of Extraordinary Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu (Russian: Серге́й Кужуге́тович Шойгу́).
Left: 12:16 p.m.
A Spetsnaz Colonel (wearing a suit, white shirt and tie) awaits the arrival of Sergei Shoigu at the tormac.
Left: Around 14:30 p.m.
Minister Sergei Shoigu arrives onboard Tu-134.
Left: Sergei Shoigu meets the press representative of the Governor of Smolensk, Andrei Evsenikov.
Left: Sergei Shoigu and his special-purpose group on the way to the crash site. A Spetsnaz Colonel (wearing a suit) is talking on a mobile phone. The Army General, Rashid Nurgaliyev (wearing a "kepi" cap), buttons his jacket.
Above: Spetsnaz exercises in Smolensk, October 10, 2009. From left: RF Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev (wearing a "kepi" cap), Sergei Antufiev - Smolensk Oblast Governor, and a Spetsnaz Colonel.
Above: Spetsnaz exercises in Smolensk in 2013. From left, foreground: RF Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev (wearing a"kepi" cap), Sergei Antufiev - governor of Smolensk Oblast, Nikolai Rogozhkin – Interior Affairs Minister.
Left: Sergei Shoigu approaches the airport fence perimeter, behind which are the remains of the Polish government Tupolev Tu-154M plane. (Behind Mr. Shoigu, we can see a Spetsnaz officer who is putting away a cell phone in his jacket pocket).
Left: 14:35 P.M.
A special-purpose group walks in the direction of the tragedy.
Left: A Spetsnaz Colonel
Left: Sergei Shoigu and a special-purpose group at the crash site. (First from right is a Spetsnaz officer).
Left: Sergei Shoigu leading in front, followed by the Interior Affairs Minister, Rashid Nurgaliyev.
Left: The Minister of Extraordinary Situations gives an interview in which he reports that he has not yet been to the place where the TU-154M plane veered off course.
Left: A black Lexus with a magnetic emergency light on the roof, drives past the gate to the Severny airport.
Left: A motorcade of three vehicles carrying Sergei Shoigu’s special-purpose group near the NDB radio locator location.
Left: 16:40 p.m.
The special-purpose group on a dirt road leading through a sloped area, diverts to the AVTOZAVODSKAYA-2 garage complex. In the foreground, with his back showing, is a Spetsnaz Colonel. Behind him, Rashid Nurgaliyev.
Left: Officers look around and point in different directions with their hands.
Left: Three stars and stripes on the sleeve jacket leave no doubt - it is a Spetsnaz Colonel.
Left: Rashid Nurgaliyev during the 2013 exercises (left), and at the location of the Polish President's plane crash in 2010 (right).
Left: 4:47 p.m.
The special-purpose group walks towards the AVTOMOTORS. They are walking by the area where fragments of the left wing were deposited. At the head of the group is Minister Sergei Shoigu. The four figures on the right side of the frame are the Special-Forces soldiers.
Left: 4:48 p.m.
Followed by two Spetsnaz officers is Sergei Shoigu’s special-purpose group near the AVTOMOTORS.
Left: 9:40 p.m.
Vladimir Putin, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the site of the crash. Behind Putin is Rashid Nurgaliyev.
Editorial Note:
It is noteworthy that the buss carrying Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the brother of the President Lech Kaczynski, Polish officials, and members of the victims' families to the crash site in Smolensk on April 10, 2010, was intentionally delayed for hours inside of Russia, in order to stage the photo-op of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Vladimir Putin.
This troubling incident, that has not been reported outside of Poland, is vividly described in the documentary entitled "Mgla" (Eng. "Fog").
The photo on the left is one of several leaked photographs that show elated Donald Tusk with Vladimir Putin at the crash site of the Polish government Tupolev Tu-154M. These photographs created a firestorm in the Polish media and generated wide-spread public condemnation of Prime Minister's peculiar behavior. Also see: Meteoric Rise of Donald Tusk: Agent “Oscar” and Hiccups from the GDR and The Interpreter.
Left: Same photo close-up showing General Rashid Nurgaliyev behind Vladimir Putin.
Left: "Staff Briefing" in a tent. From the right: Sergei Antufiev - Governor of the Smolensk Oblast, Rashid Nurgaliyev - (Spetsnaz) Army General, Mikhail Osipienko, Supreme Commander of the RF Ministry for Extraordinary Emergencies, Smolensk District, and Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin - then Prime Minister of Russian Federation.
Left: April 11, 2010, 15:51 p.m.
Identification of the remains of the victims of the Tu-154M aircraft on the tarmac. In the back of the frame, first on the right, is a Russian Special-Forces Colonel.
Left: Smolensk’s “Mercury” Spetznaz men.
Sumary Analysis:
1. Russian Special-Forces training center, bearing the name "Mercury", is located in Zhornovka near Smolensk. Zhornovka is located north of the Smolensk-Pechersk-Zhukovoline, some twenty kilometers from downtown Smolensk.4
The mere presence of Special-Forces units in maroon berets4 at the site of the plane crash, just after finding out that it happened, can arouse suspicion. "The right to wear the Maroon Berets – said Rashid Nurgaliyev, RF Minister of Internal Affairs - [...] is the right to carry out the most dangerous and most difficult tasks, related primarily to the rescue of people in the most difficult situations. Internal [security] troops carry out complex tasks associated with global threats."5
Did the situation observed by the first witnesses at the site of the Polish Tu-154 "accident" really justify bringing in this elite “Maroon Beret” commando force? Have these forces been historically deployed under similar circumstances, i.e., plane crashes at military airports? If so, then WHOM and WHEN did they rescue?
A hypothetical question can be posed in this context: Would one expect to see a Navy Seals unit at the crash site of an airliner? The answer is an unequivocal: No!
Were the Spetsnaz men there to carry out an operation in response to some perceived “Global Threat”, as seen from the Kremlin’s perspective?
The term "Krapowyi Beret" (rus. краповый берет, Maroon Beret) is the original Russian name given to the special “Black Ops” commando formations that wear the maroon/burgundy-color berets. Members of these units are part of an elite team selected from a pool of Special-Forces operators based on strictest criteria for physical and intellectual fitness.
The "Krapoviy Beret" name is synonymous with being part of an elite group of commandos. Achieving this status is rare and signifies a privilege of belonging to the best of the best.
The "Mercury" unit and the Special-Forces Training Center operated in Zhornovka, bearing the same name, are - as it seems - two separate entities.
However, the question of whether the "Mercury" training center has a military, combat-ready unit, under the same name, or whether it has a modern combat-tactical training center called “Mercury”, is asked quite often in Russia.
Cont.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Spetsnaz – abbreviation for Войска специального назначения, tr. Voyska spetsialnogo naznacheniya, Special-Forces.
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