As part of the Ocheret (Reeds -Ed.) special operation, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine lured a Russian military to its side and blew up the Storm Z headquarters with officers with his own hands.

The press service of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported on this.

As a result of a successful operation by the I Want to Live project and the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Russian army soldier with the call sign “Silver” defected to the side of Ukraine.

At a convenient moment, he threw a grenade into the ventilation hole in the basement of the Russian unit’s headquarters, where his commander and other Russian officers were sleeping.

“There were about 15 people in the basement. In this room, a pipe was right above the bed where the commander was sleeping. It went out into the street next to the entrance, and we decided to throw a grenade or two into this pipe so that they would explode next to them,” he said.

When the matter was done, the Russian fled via a pre-arranged route and crossed into Ukrainian-controlled territory.

As part of the interaction, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine was also able to obtain valuable intelligence from the military on the enemy’s location, number, and intentions in a particular area of the front line.

Switching to the side of Ukraine

The callsign “Silver” is a Russian military man and drone operator. He first contacted the Freedom of Russia Legion in the winter of 2024.

According to him, the systematic war crimes and other crimes of the command, including extrajudicial executions, beatings, and extortion in the occupation unit, prompted him to cooperate with Ukraine.

In his interview, he emphasized that during his service on the front line, he performed only reconnaissance missions and did not kill Ukrainian soldiers.

“The Russian volunteer has become a recruit of the Freedom of Russia Legion to fight the criminal Putin regime,” the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said.

In April of this year, as part of a special operation, the DIU organized a fire on board the Russian missile ship Serpukhov, based at the Russian naval base in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region.