Inside the Shadowy World of Anti-Putin Sabotage in Russia
Two Russian men secretly working for Ukrainian intelligence share rare accounts of targeting military assets and assassinating generals in Moscow.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Two Russian men reveal their secret operations working for Ukraine's GUR intelligence
- Ivan (pseudonym) helped conduct reconnaissance and hide drone parts inside Russia
- Foma (pseudonym) runs a network of 300 to 500 undercover volunteer operatives
- Foma's network supplied intelligence leading to the assassination of Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov
The shadowy world of internal resistance against Vladimir Putin's regime has come to light as two Russian men revealed rare accounts of covert operations they claim to have carried out against military assets and personnel inside Russia. Their revelations are featured in a BBC World Service documentary produced by independent Polish journalist Marcin Mamon.
One of the operatives, using the pseudonym Ivan, claims to have played a domestic role in supporting Ukrainian drone strikes targeting strategic bombers and munitions factories on Russian soil. Ivan shared a video with Mamon showing himself apparently hiding explosives near a Russian military airfield. Had he been apprehended, he would have faced terrorism charges and decades behind bars.
"At the moment... I think the regime might fall if they lose the war… Through our actions... we are trying to speed this up."
Ivan
Meanwhile, another operative known by the pseudonym Foma operates from exile in Poland, managing a network of undercover volunteer operatives inside Russia. Foma states his network surveils high-level officers targeted by GUR, Ukraine's military intelligence service, while emphasizing that his volunteers never execute the attacks themselves.
This covert network of domestic operatives inside Russia highlights the complex asymmetric warfare and intelligence operations utilized to challenge state security from within. GUR (Glavnoye Upravlenie Razvedki) serves as Ukraine's military intelligence agency orchestrating cross-border reconnaissance. Utilizing local citizens as informants minimizes external infiltration risks, though verifying the exact scale and scope of these clandestine operations remains difficult due to extreme operational secrecy.
While initially tight-lipped about ongoing surveillance targets, Foma later acknowledged supplying intelligence on Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, who was killed by an explosive device planted under his car in Moscow last December. Foma later texted Mamon detailing the extensive effort required to track Sarvarov, noting that the general constantly changed schedules and alternated residences between his mistress and a colleague.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Foma claimed his background among Russia's elite granted him continuous insider information. During the interview, he demonstrated on his laptop how he maps military infrastructure, including storage warehouses, military units, general officer residences, and the homes of strategic bomber pilots shelling Ukraine. He argued that breaking the system requires understanding its mechanics.
Although Ukrainian authorities and the operatives remain cautious about sharing granular details, making full verification impossible, the broad tactics described match strategies acknowledged by Kyiv. Ukraine has consistently pursued coordinated drone strikes against military targets inside Russia and experienced several targeted political assassinations since the war began, though Kyiv maintains a policy of not officially claiming responsibility for specific targeted killings.
Source: BBC World
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