Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Putin’s focus may be on the war in Ukraine, but he is also facing covert resistance inside Russia.
Two Russian operatives have spoken to the BBC about running undercover missions against their own country for Ukrainian military intelligence. Ivan works on the ground.
He scouts targets and helps prepare drone strikes on domestic airfields. Farther away in Poland, an exiled Russian named Foma coordinates a digital ring of volunteers that stalks military commanders.
Ukrainian officials admit that they use secret agents across the border. Even so, trust remains fragile. When asked if he had complete faith in Ivan, one Ukrainian handler delivered a blunt verdict: “I’m not sure of anyone, except myself.”
Both men say they act out of conviction. By wrecking bases and rattling the Kremlin, they hope to bring a swift end to Vladimir Putin’s rule. “At the moment… I think the [Putin] regime might fall if they lose the war… Through our actions… we are trying to speed this up,” Ivan told filmmaker Marcin Mamon.
Living with fear
From his base in Poland, Foma trains dozens of undercover volunteers remotely, teaching recruits how to tail targets without carrying a phone. His scouts tracked Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov before his assassination in Moscow. They watch where generals sleep.
“I want them to get scared,” Foma said, arguing that Russian commanders must face consequences for the war.
Inside Russia, the work is lethal. Ivan spent months scouting airfields and hiding drone parts, once slipping through a police checkpoint with homemade explosives in his vehicle. One mistake means life in prison.
Most saboteurs inside the country act for cash or carry packages without knowing what is inside. Ivan remains an exception because he openly opposes the regime. Still, nerves take an inescapable toll.
Ivan confessed that fear has become his second shadow with it following him wherever he goes, but as he says:
“Even if you don’t do anything, you’re still afraid. This is Russia.”
He continues his covert mission regardless, sustained by a single thought: “Putin won’t live forever.”
Partisan groups wreaking havoc
It is unclear what network, if any, Ivan is a part of, but the pro-Ukrainian partisan group Atesh routinely publish footage of their agents conducting sabotage missions.
On October 14 the group published footage of what it claims to be a power substation supplying a Russian Optical-Mechanical Plant being disabled by an explosion.
According to the group, production at the plant, which supplies the Russian military with components for several types of missiles, was disrupted. It is unknown for how long production was disrupted, and the information has not been independently verified.
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Atesh is an armed movement in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and in the territory of Russia, created by Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in September 2022 as a result of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
