Their first battle plan became obsolete at the moment when the dam on the Dnieper river was destroyed.
Ukrainian special forces therefore spent the next six months adjusting plans and combat activities to secure a crossing to the other side of that river.
But it wasn't enough just to cross the river in the south of Ukraine. They also needed support to keep the crossing. And for that they needed proof that it was even possible to do it. For one of the officers, nicknamed Skif, that meant a Ukrainian flag - and a photo opportunity.
Scythian, Ukrainian short for the nomadic Scythian people who founded an empire in present-day Crimea, moves like a camouflaged amphibian: calculated, deliberate, right up until the moment to strike.
He is an officer of Center 73, one of Ukraine's most elite special forces units.
Their mission on the more dynamic of the two main fronts in Ukraine's six-month counteroffensive reflects many of the problems of the country's broader efforts. It was one of the rare successes of the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive.
By the end of May, the soldiers of Center 73 were stationed along the river, some of them almost near the Kahovka Dam. They have been within range of Russian forces controlling the dam and land across the Dnieper since the first days after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Both sides knew that the announced Ukrainian counter-offensive was aimed at controlling the river as the key to retaking the occupied south.
However, in the first days of the operation, on June 6, an explosion destroyed the dam, sending large volumes of water downstream and destroying Ukrainian army positions. An AP investigation found evidence that Russia was responsible for the explosion.
"We were ready to cross. And then the dam blew up," explains Skiff.
The water rose 20 meters, submerging the Skiff's supply lines, Russian positions and everything else in its path. The race was on: whose forces could take the islands when the waters receded, and with them complete control of the Dnieper?
Covert operations
AP joined one of the secret units several times during the six months along the Dnieper. The so-called "frog-men" operate at night. They transform from ordinary civilians into elite fighters, some in water gear and some in boats. In the morning, when their work is done, they return to anonymity.
They rarely take credit for their work, and Ukrainians rarely learn the full details of their operations. But the announcements by the Russian military gleefully - but inaccurately - announcing the destruction of Center 73 are an indication of their effectiveness.
Members of this group have state-of-the-art equipment, night vision goggles, waterproof rifles that can be assembled in seconds, underwater breathing devices that do not produce bubbles at the surface, and cloaks that hide their body heat during nighttime operations, making them difficult to detect.
Just before the start of the counteroffensive, Center 73 had already located the Russian positions that they would occupy on the islands of the Dnieper River. The dam explosion undid all that.
Both Russians and Ukrainians retreated from the river to regroup, Russians to the south, Ukrainians to the north.
For the Ukrainians, the bases became abandoned houses, clubs and shops, in which they installed numerous computer screens, with improvised weapons workshops nearby. They often changed locations, and slept only a few hours during the day, with the curtains down.
They would wake up around sunset and drive to the riverbank to scout routes for a counteroffensive, provoke Russian forces into firing at them to determine their location, buy supplies, and occasionally take prisoners.
While other special forces engaged in fighting in eastern Ukraine, the second main front in the counteroffensive, Skif's men patiently waited for the water to recede so they could take up positions and lay the groundwork for the arrival of infantry and marines in the Kherson region.
Skif, a veteran of the 2022 Battle of Mariupol who survived 266 days as a Russian prisoner of war, wanted to fight. He was part of Center 73 before Mariupol and returned after being released in a prisoner exchange.
The withdrawal of the river and the continuation of the operation
Ukraine created special military units in response to Russia's swift annexation of Crimea in 2014, a precursor to a full-scale invasion eight years later.
"We realized that we are much outnumbered by our enemy," says Oleksandr Kindratenko, a special forces media officer. "The emphasis was on quality. These were supposed to be small groups performing operational or strategic tasks."
He explains that they have been partially trained and equipped by Europeans, including those from NATO countries, but their recent combat experience means they are no longer just students but also teachers.
Skiff knew he had to plan first and convince the generals that if his men could secure the bridgehead, then it would be worth sending troops. And that means high-risk river missions.
"My phone book is a little graveyard," he says. "A lot of good, decent people are dead. They were killed on the battlefield. One was burned in an armored truck. One was hit by a howitzer. Someone stepped on a mine. Everyone died differently, and there are so many of them."
The water receded in July. The Russians and Ukrainians again advanced towards the river from opposite directions.
Groups of Center 73 scouted and advanced along the river. Skiff's unit's mission was to reclaim the island near the dam, which now consisted of cracked mud and dead trees. Based on their spy network, drones and satellite images, they knew the positions of Russian forces.
After disembarking, they moved slowly through branches and swarms of mosquitoes so loud that their sound could be heard on camera footage. One team member tripped over a wire connected to a grenade and threw himself as far as he could to avoid death.
Geller pierced his back, and at that moment chaos ensued. The wounded man crawled three kilometers back to the boat, while the Russian troops who had set the trap fired at the Ukrainians. Skiff's unit barely made it to the bullet-riddled boat and evacuated to their side of the Dnieper.
Meanwhile, the Russians established a strong position on the island, and the Ukrainians would later need several weeks to drive them out of that place.
Crossing the Dnieper
Not long after that action, a new order arrived - to break through the Russian defense upstream, under the destroyed railway bridge.
Thanks to the advantage that Ukrainians have - that they know both Russian and Ukrainian languages - in contrast to Russian soldiers who mostly only know Russian, they easily understood the intercepted communications of the enemy.
Based on eavesdropping on the Russians at the railway bridge, they knew how many forces and what kind of weapons they had at their disposal. They successfully disembarked and evaded the Russians, but while they waited for help, their advantage disappeared - the Russians threw hundreds of shells at them, including Iskander rockets, and sent dozens of drones.
"They had absolute dominance in the air compared to us and held positions," says Skiff, whose group retreated under heavy fire.
However, not long after that battle, in the early fall, they had a lot of luck. A Russian officer who claimed to have opposed the war from the beginning was sent to the front in Kherson. He later said that things were as bad as he had feared.
He contacted Ukrainian intelligence and said he had 11 comrades who felt the same way. The group surrendered together, and were eventually taken over by Skiff.
The surrendering Russians told him exactly what he needed to know about their unit on a small island, not far from the village of Krinki, the capture of which became his unit's new mission.
Skiff was sure he could take the island, and still advance, with 20 experienced men. But not without the promise of enough support for regular Ukrainian forces to hold the territory once it is captured. His commander agreed. Skiff will have support if he returns with a video of his unit with the Ukrainian flag in the village.
In mid-October, a Ukrainian drone flying the national blue-and-yellow flag flew over Krinki just as Skif and his men headed for the occupied village across the river. They got a chance to take a photo, sent it to military headquarters and set up a bridgehead.
Since then, more Ukrainian brigades have been sent to hold the position, including soldiers from Center 73 who are still in combat shape.
Still, nighttime temperatures now drop well below freezing, and Ukrainian forces are underequipped compared to nearby Russian ones. Holding territory and advancing in winter is much harder on soldiers' bodies and morale.
In recent weeks, Russia has regularly bombed the area and sent drones, according to data from US organizations that analyze footage from the battlefield, such as the Institute for the Study of War.
However, Ukrainian forces and Center 73 are holding on.
"This is our job," says Skiff. "Nobody knows about it, nobody talks about it, and we do it for little reward other than to benefit our country."
Bonus video:
