Book presentation “DIU Island. Secrets. Operations. War” held in the capital

On January 20, a presentation of the book “DIU Island. Secrets. Operations. War” took place in Kyiv.

It is the first comprehensive publication in Ukraine about the work of Ukrainian military intelligence without artistic embellishment — instead offering an insider’s perspective.

The author, Maksym Butchenko, carried out extensive work, communicating with active and former intelligence officers. It is clear that most of them cannot yet disclose their names.

The book focuses on people and decisions that influenced the course of the war. It covers special operations behind enemy lines, battles during the defense of Kyiv, including the fighting for Hostomel. A separate section is dedicated to maritime drones, strikes at distances of thousands of kilometers, and intelligence operations in temporarily occupied territories.

The foreword to the book was written by former Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov.

As writer Andrii Kokotiukha, who moderated the meeting, said:

“Without creating our own real heroes, without popularizing them, without creating fictional heroes for mass culture, it is hard to win the war into which we have been drawn. Why? Because people must know their heroes, feel their heroes, and look up to them”.

The author, Maksym Butchenko, is a well-known Ukrainian writer and journalist, born in the city of Rovenky in Luhansk Oblast. He worked as a journalist for Korrespondent, Focus, and NV, where he wrote analytical pieces on the war, Donbas, and societal transformations.

Among globally renowned intelligence agencies, Israel’s Mossad holds a special place. Repeatedly, including on social media, people have voiced the idea that “we need a Ukrainian Mossad”. Maksym responded briefly:

“Why would we need Mossad if we already have Ukrainian DIU, for example? There is one very important thing to note. The history of Mossad is long, and the operations they carried out and are now discussed happened quite a long time ago — in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. They have a very long declassification delay. My book is about operations carried out relatively recently. This is a very important difference. They are closer to us, perhaps. Many of the HUR servicemen I spoke with were civilians before the war and had never done anything like this, but now they successfully carry out the most complex tasks. And that impressed me the most”, — MoD spokesperson Major Andrii Yusov noted:

“A complex job has been done, because in general it is difficult to communicate with officers from combat units — they usually avoid contact. This book is an example of a successful project. An English-language version of the book is currently being prepared. Together, we are opening a new Ukraine to the world — a strong Ukraine that conducts asymmetric actions and carries out operations no one expects”.