Yuriy Kobzar22:37, 12.10.24

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Russian soldiers spy or even organize sabotage, secretly helping Ukraine.

Ukrainian special services have hundreds or even thousands of their agents inside the Russian army. They perform not only espionage, but also sabotage missions, writes The Telegraph .

The author of the publication spoke with representatives of the Atesh partisan movement, which was initially created in Crimea in the summer of 2022, but has now significantly expanded its activity. Today, the movement has more than 2,000 underground members who operate in the shadows in all the occupied territories and in Russia itself, and even penetrating deep into the Russian army.

“We are constantly growing. Almost from the beginning, we have had Russian soldiers join us, helping to get information both on the front lines and behind the scenes in Crimea and Russia. But we are currently seeing a significant increase in the number of Russian soldiers who are joining our ranks. They are the main a tool to support our struggle, to carry out important subversive and reconnaissance tasks,” said the Atesha spokesman. 

This guerrilla group cooperates with Ukrainian intelligence as well as other resistance movements, relying on local residents’ deep knowledge of their land and, increasingly, on Russian soldiers themselves. 

Dozens of Russians, dragged into the war against their will, became a valuable asset. According to the spokesman, on the battlefield, the Russians provide information on the movement of troops, the supply of weapons and ammunition, the movement of commanders and the location of command posts.

At Russian airfields, Ukrainian agents report on the type, number, and condition of aircraft, as well as air defense systems, flight schedules, and fuel and ammunition stocks. Some engage in high-risk operations, damaging equipment and weapons, setting arson to damage and expose their own positions.

The Telegraph spoke to several Russian soldiers who have embarked on the path of underground struggle against Putin’s regime. Last year, Atesh claimed that 4,000 Russian soldiers had already taken an online course on how to “survive in war” by hacking their own equipment.

In particular, the story of a Russian soldier who set fire to his unit’s dugout right on the front line somewhere on the Left Bank of the Dnieper is given. The fire spread to the dugout of a nearby unit, and the boy watched as his fellow soldiers were burned, trying in vain to get ammunition and weapons.

“There was panic, thick smoke from the fire and shelling from the Ukrainian side. While they were trying to put out the fire and save food and weapons, the fire spread to a larger area. Many soldiers were burned. I knew the area well because I was there for a long time . I think I did my job well, maybe even more. The results exceeded our expectations,” he said.

It is noted that now this soldier continues to fight, but already on the Ukrainian side.

Another Russian soldier, recruited by the Atesh group, works at an air base several hundred miles from the Ukrainian border, tracking aircraft movements and weapons deliveries. The airfield, which the agent describes as “one of the largest combat-capable in Russia,” is home to some of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets, responsible for launching regular missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.

“Here I act as the eyes and ears of Atesh,” the soldier told reporters. It’s a risky job that he knows could lead to treason charges and decades in prison. “But I understand what is evil and what is good. Unfortunately, my country chose the path of evil,” he said.

Last month, he passed on information about the redeployment of Su-34 fighter-bombers to other airfields deep in Russia, which he said later became targets of Ukraine.

The press secretary of “Atesha” said that the greatest success of their movement was the destruction of the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. And here, too, a Russian soldier helped, who told about the planned meeting of the fleet command, and Ukraine used this information to determine the time of its strike.

(c)UNIAN 2024