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Sept. 14, 2025, 1:29 p.m.
Israeli veteran led the underground during the occupation of Kherson
Цей матеріал також доступний українською187
Eyal Israeli, an Israeli veteran. PHOTO: from the private archive of Eyal Israeli
Israeli veteran Eyal Israeli led an underground struggle against the Russian occupiers in Kherson under the auspices of the SBU. He organized a reconnaissance and sabotage group that provided information for targeted strikes and helped Ukrainian families in the city.
According to the online publication "Left Bank," the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post published a story about Eyal Israeli, a veteran of the Israeli special forces fighting on the side of Ukraine.
According to a multi-page report by SBU officers from Kherson, Eyal, who had lived in the city for 16 years and was married to a Ukrainian citizen, offered to help defend Kherson in the first days after Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, and enlisted in a territorial defense battalion. After the city's defense quickly fell, he returned home.
A little later, it turned out that among the Russian agents were the head of the regional SBU and his deputy, as well as the former mayor of Kherson (2002-2012), Volodymyr Saldo. Because of their betrayal, the bridges across the Dnipro were not blown up, and Russian troops quickly captured the city. Despite this, SBU officers approved Eyal Israeli's offer of assistance.
Under the auspices of the SBU, Eyal formed a reconnaissance and sabotage group and became the leader of the anti-Russian underground in the occupied city. Among his and the team's achievements:
- Destruction of the occupiers' propaganda billboards and distribution of pro-Ukrainian leaflets;
- delivering food, baby food and medical supplies to families of Ukrainian officers, hospitals and people with disabilities;
- coordinating precision strikes by the Ukrainian army against the targets of Russian troops and Iranian advisors;
- passing on information about traitors to Ukraine and working to neutralize them;
- during the retreat of Russian troops in November 2022, he destroyed five cars with the occupiers who were in a hurry to leave the city.
During the floods after the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in June 2023, Eyal rescued Ukrainian soldiers and civilians under fire by traveling on his boat.
Due to his appearance and knowledge of languages, Eyal Israeli could safely move around the city under occupation.
Russian soldiers mistook me for a Caucasian, Buryats for an Asian, and Chechens for a Muslim. I would quote them Quranic verses in Arabic and drive on," he recalls.
The letter addressed to SBU Head Vasyl Malyuk emphasizes that during the occupation of Kherson, Eyal and his wife acted with courage and ingenuity, showing courage and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of obtaining intelligence in order to inflict maximum damage on the enemy.
Kherson businessman Ihor Kuraian has also been helping Ukraine's defenders since 2014, and during the full-scale invasion he stood up to defend his hometown. He took part in the terrorist struggle, was a partisan during the occupation, and survived a brutal captivity. He spoke about the defense of Kherson, the reasons for its defeat, the conditions of Russian captivity and his unexpected rescue in an exclusive interview with Int.
