Russia forms «Naval PMC»: Who’s in «Espanyola» and how it wages war against Ukraine

Russia’s full-scale invasion has morphed the Black Sea into a cauldron of relentless military clashes. The epicenter of this showdown has zeroed in on the oil and gas rigs known as the Boyko Towers. Even though Ukraine’s Defense Forces reclaimed these pivotal assets in 2023, Moscow hasn’t abandoned its attempts to to recapture them.

This was reported by Radio Svoboda.

The «Espanyola» unit: from football ultras to a «naval PMC»

Operating along this front — in particular to «defend the shores of occupied Crimea» from the Ukrainian Armed Forces — is Russia’s «Espanyola» unit, formed in 2024.

«Espanyola» is not part of Russia’s Defense Ministry but cooperates with it. It seeks to become the country’s «first naval PMC, ” aiming to secure legal recognition through a forthcoming law on private military companies. According to leadership sources, the unit was created under the patronage of Crimea’s Russian-installed head Sergey Aksyonov (though he has not publicly confirmed this) to strengthen coastal defense.

The naval detachment is now actively engaged in battles around the oil and gas platforms seized by Russia in 2014 and later used for reconnaissance and logistics.

Initially, Espanyola functioned as a ground unit connected with Russian PMCs, GRU structures, and businessmen close to Putin — including the Rotenberg brothers — as well as with state-owned corporations. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, the unit is financed by the ruling United Russia party. Recruitment focuses on football ultras, radicals, and civilians from impoverished Russian regions who, according to Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, are sent into «meat assaults» as cannon fodder.

Comprised mostly of football fans, the unit is led by Stanislav Orlov (callsign «Spaniard»). Its naval component, which emerged in 2024 after heavy losses suffered by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, is headed by a commander with the callsign «Altai.»

Plans and internal contradictions

The «Espanyola» naval detachment has ambitious objectives, including:

1. Strengthening Crimea’s coastal defense and countering Ukrainian naval drones.

2. Guarding Russia’s «shadow fleet, ” ports, coastlines, and assets belonging to allied states and corporations in the Black Sea.

However, despite promises of «creative tactics, ” the naval Espanyola has yet to demonstrate significant success. Russian military bloggers criticize the use of its fighters on offshore platforms, describing the missions as „certain death“ given the structures’ vulnerability to Ukrainian strikes.

In October, reports emerged that the ground component of «Espanyola» had been disbanded, with its personnel absorbed into Russia’s Defense Ministry structures. The naval detachment, however, remains «adrift.»

Ukraine’s maritime dominance

Mykhailo Honchar, President of the Centre for Global Studies Strategy XXI, stresses that despite lacking a formal navy, Ukraine’s Defense Forces have pushed Russia’s fleet out and maintained dominance in the Black Sea since mid-July 2023.

Ukraine’s control of the maritime area and destruction of Russian positions on the platforms on September 11, 2023, hands Ukraine a decisive strategic edge. This strengthens Kyiv’s diplomatic leverage, underscoring how «a nation sans a fleet has cornered the Russian navy into the far reaches of the Black Sea.»