Former Russian officer Lev Stupnikov passed on information to the Ukrainian Defense Forces about the movements of Russian invaders for seven months. The information Stupnikov provided helped the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully strike at Russian military training grounds near Volnovakha in the Donetsk region. Stupnikov later crossed the front line under the guidance of Ukrainian intelligence officers. He now serves in the Russian Volunteer Corps, defending Ukraine.
Stupnikov said this in an interview with Ukrainian blogger Dmytro Karpenko, reports Censor.NET.
What is known about Lev Stupnikov?
Russian Lev Stupnikov was born in Kazakhstan. When Lev was 12 years old, he moved to Omsk, Russia, with his mother and sister.
After the 8th grade, his mother sent his son to study at the Omsk Cadet Corps. Stupnikov dreamed of becoming a pilot, but he encountered corruption, so he did not go to study.
Later, he applied to the Polytechnic University to study “rocket engine design”, but he barely studied, so he was expelled from the 3rd year. In 2018, he entered the Military Academy of Communications in St. Petersburg, majoring in “Multi-channel telecommunications systems”.
According to Lev, when the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, propaganda at the academy was in full swing. The man said that many of his classmates wanted to go to the front. The key motivation was money.
Stupnikov said that about six months before graduation, he made a final decision: if sent to war, he would surrender to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Cooperation with the Ukrainian military
At the end of April 2023, Lev graduated from the academy with the rank of lieutenant. He was later assigned to the 36th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Federation. Upon arrival at the unit, he was immediately appointed commander of the communications battalion.
According to the man, he wanted to go to Ukraine as soon as possible. In November 2023, after a short course on UAV operators, Lev ended up in the Vugledar district of Donetsk region.
In early 2024, Stupnikov wrote to Ukrainian blogger Dmytro Karpenko (the “Apostol” project), and from then on his cooperation with the Ukrainian military began.
The first and most significant episode of Stupnikov’s cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine was the transfer of information about the deployment of Russian military personnel at the training ground near Volnovakha in the Donetsk region. Thanks to the information transmitted by Stupnikov, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the enemy training ground at the moment when the occupiers were forming up. Russian Telegram channels then wrote about 65 eliminated occupiers.
In addition, Lev provided the Ukrainian Armed Forces with information about the location of a group of Russian “Storm-Z” attack aircraft recruited from former prisoners. Stupnikov also provided information to the Ukrainian military about the accumulation of enemy equipment.
As a result, during its seven months of operation, the 36th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Federation was unable to advance “not even a meter” on its sector of the front.
Evacuation and transition to the side of Ukraine
On July 7, 2024, the evacuation of Stupnikov was organized under the “I Want to Live” program. The Ukrainian intelligence officers helped Lev leave the positions of the occupiers. He left his positions and, under the supervision of a Ukrainian drone, went out to meet the Ukrainian intelligence group through the minefield.
The man switched sides and joined one of the units of the Military District of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, namely the Russian Volunteer Corps, where he serves to this day.
Later, the “I Want to Live” project helped organize the departure of his mother and sister from Russia. They left everything and moved to Ukraine. Stupnikov’s wife refused to move to Ukraine.
Author: Olga Gergelyuk Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/v3573846
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