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A Russian soldier has blown up his assault unit’s military base before escaping and defecting to Ukraine, according to Kyiv.
Officials from Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence announced that the soldier, an FPV drone pilot known by his call-sign “Silver”, had planned his defection for months, with help from Ukraine’s military intelligence, as well as the Freedom of Russia Legion, an anti-Putin Russian partisan group.
Footage taken moments before his escape shows Silver throwing a grenade into a basement where his commander and fellow officers were sleeping, before disappearing amid the chaos.
The defecting soldier then crossed the front line and surrendered to Kyiv’s forces.
Kyiv claimed that the former Russian soldier had provided “valuable intelligence” on Moscow’s positions and offensive plans.
Silver said he had become disillusioned with Russia’s war in Ukraine “and other crimes carried out by his command, including extrajudicial executions, beatings and extortion” against both civilians and soldiers within his unit.
“I wanted to serve in the army. I gave an oath to protect my motherland,” he said.
“My motherland is there [in Russia] and no one attacked it. I didn’t want to serve for Russia during the war and didn’t want to die for Putin.”
Source Agencies
