FSB Vympel: Russia’s Secretive Unit

1.0 Introduction

Directorate “V” of the FSB Special Purpose Center, also referred to as Spetsgruppa “V” Vympel, FSB Vympel as well as KGB Directorate “V” Vega Group is a Russian special forces unit. Under the Command of the FSB it is the sister unit of Spetsgruppa “A” (Alpha Group) another FSB special operations unit. Originally, the unit prioritised covert and clandestine sabotage outside the Soviet Union, but it has since shifted its operations after the fall of the Soviet Union. In present-day Russia, FSB Vympel operations actively concentrate on counter-terrorism and enforcing nuclear safety. However, there are indications that it actively participated in the Russian intervention in the Syrian Civil War and the invasion of Ukraine.

2.0 Motto, Emblem, Patches

2.1 Motto

The motto of FSB Vympel is ‘Служить и защищать’ (Sluzhit’ i zashchishchat’) which means ‘Serve and Protect’ in English. This reinforces the group’s modern directive which is to protect the Russian Federation against terrorist threats and to secure its nuclear sites.

2.2 Emblem of FSB Vympel

FSB Vympel’s emblem is similar in design to other Russian special operations groups’ emblems in that it features a sword striking through a shield. Also featured on the emblem is the Russian Cyrillic letter В which in English translates to V.

Additionally, the emblem also features gold-lettered writing on a blue background which states ‘ВПЦ ВЫМПЕЛ’ which denotes the group being FSB Vympel. 

FSB Vympel logo
FSB Vympel logo

2.3 Patches

Vympel is highly secretive, yet pictures of the groups’ operators feature several patches.

2.3.1 FSB Vympel unit patch 

The FSB Vympel unit patch which is on the group operator uniform is a stylised tactical version of the group’s emblem and features the Cyrillic letter В.

FSB Vympel operator using a GM-94 grenade launcher.
FSB Vympel operator (note patch on right arm) using a GM-94

2.3.2 FSB Back Patch

Additionally, the group, much like its sister group FSB Alpha, also uses the FSB back patch which features the word FSB in Cyrillic. It does this to distinguish itself from other Russian special operations units.

2.3.3 Other Patches of FSB Vympel

The group uses several other patches which can include:

  • Russian flag patches – FSB Vympel personnel frequently wear Russian flag patches, although other units also use them. [Source]
Russian FSB Vympel officers at the 2018 Spetsnaz triathlon (Russian flag patch on the helmet)
Russian FSB Vympel officers at the 2018 Spetsnaz triathlon (note the Russian flag patch on the helmet)
  • Task patches – The Operators of the unit may also use patches which designate their specific tasks or specialities such as the operators below. The Vympel member on the left is wearing arctic camouflage and has the task patch on his right arm which designates him as being a part of the HAHO/HALO team. The operator on the right has the dive squad patch on his backpack. [Source, ]

3.0 Organisation

FSB Vympel is a highly secretive and well-trained unit. This recognition has propelled the group to attain acknowledgement as one of the Russian Federation’s most elite forces, actively deployed by the state for anti-terrorist actions, expeditionary operations, and safeguarding critical infrastructure. Stemming from its origins as a KGB unit under the Soviet Union, many of the group’s current operations remain highly classified and shrouded in secrecy.

3.1 History of FSB Vympel

Vympel has historically played a significant role as a part of the KGB’s special operations and later as a part of the FSB. It has undergone several changes over the unit’s history.

3.1.1 KUOS

In 1955 the First Directorate of the KGB established the Development Courses for Officer Personnel. This was a training group which had the specific purpose of training general duty KGB officers in irregular warfare and clandestine tactics for operations overseas. It also had the purpose of training a cadre of stay-behind units as a backbone of partisan operations in the case of a foreign invasion. In 1966, they relocated to an independent training centre and merged with the Soviet Border Troop’s (the KGB’s force) training centre. The KUOS graduates actively participated in the events of the Prague Spring in 1968, and by 1969, they became fully integrated into the KGB academy. [Source]

3.1.2 Zenyth

The KUOS cadre formed the Special Operations Task Group Zenyth, which actively participated in Operation Storm-333 during the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Task Group Zenyth, alongside the Grom unit of the KGB’s Alpha Group, stormed the Tajbeg palace to assassinate Afghan Leader Hafizullah Amin who had taken power in the Saur Revolution of April 1978. They wore Afghan army uniforms without identification and proceeded to storm the palace alongside the GRU Spetsnaz units deployed alongside them and succeeded in assassinating Hafizullah Amin and suffered 5 losses between the two units. [Source]

3.1.3 Kaskad and Omega

Following on from the full-scale invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union the KGB ordered the KUOS to form another special operations task force. Kaskad was formed and from July 1980 to April 1983 the Kaskad unit made four tours to Afghanistan. Kaskad operated in both an intelligence and counterintelligence capacity and provided support to the KGB on operations. However, this differs from Zenyth, which was specifically formed for an operation within Afghanistan. Kaskad underwent relief in April 1983 by the Omega Special Operations Task Group, which was then assigned the active task of building up Afghan capabilities to eventually replace Kaskad-Omega operations in the country. [Source]

3.1.4 Formation of FSB Vympel

On 19 August 1981, a joint meeting of the Politburo and the CPSU Central Committee made the decision to establish a top-secret special operations group within the KGB. They opted to merge the Zenyth and Kaskad groups, naming the new entity Vympel. Under the command of Ewald Kozlov, the Special Operations Task Group Vympel was formed. Intended to conduct special operations such as recon operations deep behind enemy lines, sabotage as well as the protection of soviet institutions abroad and to fight against terrorists. 

Endless reorganization and restructuring decimated Vympel’s organizational structure as it passed through various supervisions, including the Security Ministry and the GUO, before coming under the command of the MVD (Interior Ministry). After the group refused to storm the Supreme Council building of the Russian Federation during the 1991 coup attempt, authorities transferred it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Only 50 of its employees consented to continue serving, leading to its renaming as ‘Vega’.

In August 1995, a presidential decree reinstated Vympel to active service. In October of the same year, the FSB created the special unit ‘B’ as a part of its operations, serving as the legal successor to the original Vympel unit. This newly established unit received the mandate to actively carry out counter-terrorism operations, safeguard strategic sites, and suppress terrorist acts targeting Russian citizens and the Russian Federation both domestically and abroad. [Source, source, source]

3.2 Key Figures of FSB Vympel

The groups current leader is not known however the group has several notable key figures such as:

  • Ewald Kozlov – A graduate of Baku Naval Officer School who served in Afghanistan with Zenyth. He took part in the assassination of Hafizullah Amin. Named as Vympel’s first commander, he was replaced in 1985. [Source]
  • Vadim Krasikov – Vadim Krasikov a suspected FSB Vympel agent, stands accused of involvement in the assassination of Zelimkhan Khangishvili in Berlin on 23 August 2019. [Source]
  • Eduard Vitalevich Bendersky – A former FSB Spetsnaz officer who currently owns several PSCs that employ ex-Spetsnaz soldiers. He often appears as the spokesman for FSB Vympel. Several of his companies bear the name Vympel, and although he isn’t an official government employee, the Russian government contracts him to safeguard the operations of Russian oil companies in Iraq.[Source, source]

3.3 Recruitment and training

FSB Vympel operatives receive the same training as other Spetsnaz units such as FSB Alpha. However, there is an increased emphasis on counter-terrorist operations. Operatives undergo training in close-quarters battle (CQB), weapon handling and deployment, as well as insertion tactics. The minimum requirement for Vympel operatives is that they must have served in a regular Spetsnaz unit for two years before applying to join Vympel. [Source] 

Vympel operative training is noted to include:

  • General physical training
  • Hand-to-hand combat
  • Driving classes
  • Learning domestic and foreign-made weapons 
  • Diving
  • Rock climbing
  • Medical training
  • Explosives training
  • Airborne and underwater training

On Average it takes 5 years to fully train a Vympel operator [Source]

3.3.1 Selection Training for FSB Vympel

Selection training of FSB Vympel operatives is the same as that of its sister group FSB Alpha. Prospective members need to be able to do the following:

  1. Run 3 kilometres in 10 minutes and 30 seconds
  2. After 5 mins rest, run 100 metres in 12.7 seconds
  3. Do 25 pull-ups consecutively
  4. Do 90 push-ups consecutively
  5. Bench-press your weight 10 times
  6. 100 jumps from a sitting position whilst alternating legs
  7. 3 minutes of hand-to-hand combat sparring with an active FSB Vympel/Alpha operative or instructor. Recruits who are on the defensive during this period tend to fail and are judged on their will to fight, fitness and aversion to injury.

[Source]

4.0 Equipment of FSB Vympel

4.1 Weapons

FSB Vympel uses a variety of small arms also available to other special forces units such as FSB Alpha. These include:

  • AK-105 Assault rifles (ARs)
  • AK-74 ARs
  • PP-19 Vityaz (SMG)
  • AS-Val
  • AK-15
  • PP-2000
  • SR-1 Vektor
  • VSS Vintorez
  • PKM LMGs
  • ASVK
  • GM-94 

[Source]

FSB Vympel operators during a training demonstration.
FSB Vympel operators during a training demonstration

4.2 Vehicles

The vehicles in use by the group are not publicly known. However, they are assumed to have access to similar vehicles which their sister unit FSB Alpha does.

The group does have access to the KAMAZ-63968 Typhoon-K MRAP alternatively known as the Viking. The group also has access to unmanned combat support drones. It uses these to clear houses by sending the drone in first to draw fire. The Viking MRAP can be seen in use below.

4.3 Optics and other equipment

The group also uses a variety of optic platforms such as:

  • Aimpoint micro sights
  • EOTech micro sights 
  • Thermal scopes
  • AN/PEQ-15 laser aiming modules

[Source]

The group also uses night vision goggles such as the DS-15 DEDAL-NV Gen 3+ bino NVGs platform.

FSB Vympel also uses the Veer 6 ballistic shield and the Vant-VM Kevlar shield. This piece of equipment shields the operator during advancement onto a target. Some models of this shield are equipped with flash capabilities aimed at blinding targets in front of the operator. Below, you can see FSB Vympel agents utilizing it.

FSB Special Purpose Center Vympel officers with a Vant-VM Kevlar shield and Falcatus MRAP.
FSB Special Purpose Center Vympel officers with a Vant-VM Kevlar shield and Falcatus MRAP (Source)

5.0 Tactical-Operational Information

Due to the group’s secretive nature not much is known about its specific tactical-operational methods. However, its mission statement is known and these include:

  • Intelligence gathering deep within the enemy’s rear
  • HUMINT
  • Diversion and assault in strategic locations of the enemy
  • Seizure of enemy surface vessels and submarines
  • Security of diplomatic locations overseas
  • Combat against terror organisations

[Source]

5.1 Personnel size of FSB Vympel

The amount of personnel in FSB Vympel is classified and is unknown. However, estimates suggest that the current personnel strength of both FSB Vympel and Alpha ranges from around 300 to 500 members. [Source]

5.2 Operations

FSB Vympel is a classified and secretive unit and many of its operations are not known. However, some of its recent operations are known and these include:

5.2.1 – Beslan School Siege

On 1 September 2004, Chechen militants took 1128 hostages which included teachers, other staff, children and parents. Around 333 people are believed to have died during the siege with 186 of this number being children. FSB Vympel units alongside FSB Alpha operators took part in the siege of the school by securing the perimeter of the buildings. 

Vympel and Alpha units were ordered to assault the building after an IED was detonated inside the gymnasium. Backed by OMON troops and armed civilian volunteers the combined Vympel and Alpha units stormed and breached the school building engaging the Chechen gunmen. FSB Vympel lost around 7 members which was the most in the unit’s history up until that point and most died attempting to shield children from the firefights between the FSB/OMON and gunmen. [Source]

Russian FSB Vympel operator Maxim Razumovsky during the Beslan School siege - minutes earlier he had learnt that his brother died during the siege
Russian FSB Vympel operator Maxim Razumovsky during the Beslan School siege – minutes earlier he had learnt that his brother died during the siege – [Image source]

Following on from the siege there was widespread international condemnation of the Russian armies’ and special operations units’ conduct during the siege. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia had failed to protect the hostages of the Beslan School siege. Allegations surfaced indicating that the units involved had utilized powerful weapons such as tank cannons, grenade launchers, and flame-throwers, resulting in excessive use of force and contributing to a higher death count. [Source]

5.2.2 – Salman Raduyev

Salman Raduyev was a Chechen separatist and field commander who was responsible for the Kizlyar hostage raid. He was regarded as Russia’s second most wanted man. [Source]

Raduyev was captured in March 2000 by FSB Vympel agents in his home in Novogroznensky. Following his arrest he appeared on television clean-shaven and Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that he had confessed to trying to assassinate Eduard Shevardnadze, the then President of Georgia. Facing 18 different charges, he stood trial and pleaded not guilty, maintaining his innocence throughout the proceedings. In December 2002 he died in the “White Swan” penal colony from internal bleeding. His body remained withheld from his family due to the enactment of a law prohibiting the release of bodies to the families of individuals convicted of terrorism. [Source]

Salman Raduyev in 1996
Salman Raduyev in 1996 – [Image source]

5.3.3 Zelimkhan Khangoshvili

Zelimkhan Sultanovich Khangoshvili was an ethnic Chechen Georgian who was a former platoon commander for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the Second Chechen War. A suspected FSB Vympel operative, Vadim Krasikov, allegedly assassinated him in Kleiner Tiergarten, a park in Berlin. Vadim Krasikov, although not tied directly to FSB Vympel, operates several PSC (Private Security Companies) with links to former Vympel operatives which it recruits. Bellingcat’s collection of phone data linked Vadim Krasikov and the FSB to his assassination, revealing extensive periods spent by Krasikov at the FSB’s operational center before the attack. [Source]

6.0 Conclusion

FSB Vympel is a highly secretive special operations unit in use by the Russian Federation. While most of its current activities remain highly classified and undisclosed, the unit plays a central and pivotal role in operations of utmost importance. With its focus on counter-terrorism and previous focus on expeditionary activities outside of the Soviet Union and Russia, it is more than likely in regular use by the Russian government. This unit will likely play a central role in the Russian state’s security apparatus and the enforcement of its will across not only Russia but the globe.

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