What do U.S. “active measures” and Ukraine’s GUR have in common?

It is commonly believed that American special services and Ukrainian GUR operate in completely different paradigms. But if you look closely at their doctrines, a common architecture becomes visible.
We studied the field manuals and open data. Here’s what unites these units:
Unconventional Warfare (UW)
This is the cornerstone. For U.S. “Green Berets,” UW is not just a task — it is their primary mission, explicitly spelled out in FM 3-05.130 (formerly FM 31-20). It includes:
Guerrilla/partisan operations
Building insurgent movements
Sabotage and subversion deep behind enemy lines
Since 2014, GUR has deliberately developed exactly the same competencies. Their operators act as orchestrators of partisan warfare, sabotage against critical infrastructure, and deep-penetration diversions.
Direct Action (DA)
Short, high-intensity strikes: raids, ambushes, elimination of high-value targets. In the U.S., this is the domain of a broader range of units (Delta Force, Rangers, etc.). GUR employs the same tactics, adapted to current realities.
Special Reconnaissance (SR)
This is not mere observation. SR means infiltrating enemy territory to collect intelligence on targets that satellites and aircraft cannot reach. Both GUR and their American counterparts rely on small, autonomous teams capable of operating in the field for months and delivering tactically decisive information.
Foreign Internal Defense (FID)
The Americans have honed this practice for decades worldwide, training and arming regimes they need. GUR has become the key conduit for Western military aid and know-how, integrating the acquired experience into its own operational protocols.
Conclusion: The similarity is no coincidence. It is the result of a shared logic of modern hybrid conflicts, where sabotage, subversion, and guerrilla warfare take center stage. GUR is deliberately implementing many of the core tenets of U.S. Army Special Forces doctrine.
In future publications we will reveal the network connecting all these units and projects, and highlight the key directions of their activities.
Join
🤝 Deep Operations Group 🤝