Had Been A Spy For The Resistance Group And Detonated Its Former Unit Headquarters, The Russian Army Defected To Ukraine

Illustration of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - A Russian soldier has defected to Ukraine, according to the Freedom for Russia Legion, "I Want to Live Project" and Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, after previously leaving his unit and joining the resistance group.

The soldier, who had the nickname 'Silver', was an active soldier of the 'Storm' unit before becoming a volunteer for the Freedom for Russia Legion during the 2024 'winter season', the GUN said, a group of Russian dissidents fighting for Ukraine.

Silver (24), who came from Siberia to join the Russian army in 2021, gave his reason for defecting in an interview posted on YouTube by the "I Want to Live" project, an initiative by the Ukrainian Government to accept requests from Russian soldiers in Ukraine who want to give up.

"I want to serve in the army, I swear to protect my homeland. My homeland is there (in Russia) and no one attacks it. I don't want to serve Russia during the war and don't want to die for Putin," he said, quoted by CNN, August 21.

Silver took part in fighting in the Avdivka region in eastern Ukraine from the Russian border side as the operator of the drone. Previously, he also served on the Chinese border with Russia.

"Silver has been a member of the resistance for several months and delivered important operational information to us (the location of troops and equipment, plans, tasks in certain parts on the front lines, etc.)," the Freedom Congregation said to Russia.

After fleeing Storm's unit, Silver "activated the explosive device" at the unit's headquarters, resulting in serious injuries to commanders and several senior officers, according to the sickle.

The manuscript uploaded a video to its YouTube channel taken from a hidden camera claiming to show the operation. Several men were seen in the video wearing army uniforms before the explosion occurred, which caused the fire.

"During the retreat, Silver mined the footpath and followed the agreed route. Komando Badminton, along with the 'I Want to Live' team, arranged Silver's exit from the line of combat. Now he is undergoing basic training courses as a recruitment of sickles," the equator said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's intelligence department said operations to remove Silver were named "Ocheret".

"The Russian is motivated to cooperate with Ukraine by systematic war crimes and other crimes committed by the command, including extrajudicial executions, beatings, and robbery in the occupation unit," Defense Intelligence said on Telegram on Tuesday.

Silver claimed in the interview that he had seen several Russian soldiers killed by their own commanders.

CNN was unable to verify this claim but has contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.

Defense intelligence said Ukraine could acquire valuable intelligence on the location, number and destination of Russian troops "in certain front areas" due to interactions with Silver.