Two Russians secretly working for Ukrainian intelligence describe sabotage inside Russia in BBC documentary
In a BBC World Service documentary, two Russians working with Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR describe operations against military targets in Russia. Their claims cannot be verified, though Kyiv has acknowledged the general tactics.
Two Russian men secretly working for Ukraine's military intelligence service, the GUR, have given rare accounts of operations against military assets and personnel inside Russia, in a BBC World Service documentary. The film was made by independent Polish journalist Marcin Mamon. The men are identified only as Ivan and Foma, which are not their real names. Their testimony matters because it offers a glimpse into how Ukraine's covert agents operate on Russian soil during the war.
Ivan: surveillance and drone strikes
Ivan claims he helped prepare Ukrainian drone attacks on strategic bombers and munitions factories from inside Russia. His tasks, he says, included surveilling military sites and finding places to hide drone components. He sent Mamon a video that appeared to show him hiding explosives near a Russian military airfield. If caught, he would face terrorism charges and decades in prison.
Foma believes Ivan was likely involved in a plan to strike Russia's largest military drone factory, in Yelabuga, in June last year; one person was reported killed. Ivan stresses the aim is always to avoid harming civilians.
Foma: a network beyond Russia
Foma lives in exile in Poland and trains volunteers in Russia online to surveil senior officers the GUR is considering as targets. He says his network has about three dozen people across Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, and that it never takes part in attacks. After Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was killed in Moscow in December 2025, Foma admitted he had supplied the Ukrainians with intelligence on him.
The question of trust
The GUR has confirmed that both men work for it, but acknowledges it cannot know the full picture. Ivan's handler said he could not rule out that Ivan also works for the Russians. Ukraine never officially claims responsibility for targeted attacks, but it has acknowledged the general tactics of coordinated drone strikes and the use of secret agents.
