Two men have told the BBC that they carried out clandestine acts inside Russia they say were intended to support Ukrainian intelligence during the war, describing a covert stream of activity they characterised as sabotage directed against the Kremlin's war effort.
Their accounts, given to reporters by the men themselves, paint a picture of secretive, small-scale operations undertaken from within Russia. The men said their work was driven by opposition to President Vladimir Putin and by a desire to hinder Russian military operations in Ukraine, but provided limited detail on specific incidents or methods.
Claims of this nature are difficult to verify independently. The BBC report notes that the accounts could not be independently corroborated, and it did not attach documentary evidence to substantiate the men's statements. Russian authorities have routinely accused critics and dissidents of collaborating with foreign intelligence services and harshly punish those found to be assisting an enemy state.
Observers say such first-hand testimonies, whether fully verifiable or not, highlight the broader information and clandestine dimensions of the conflict. Inside Russia, a mix of dissident networks, activists and individuals opposing the war have been reported to undertake a range of activities — from information campaigns to alleged acts of sabotage — that present both practical challenges for security services and legal peril for participants.
The emergence of these accounts comes amid an intensifying information war around the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where both Kyiv and Moscow contest narratives and seek human intelligence. Western and Ukrainian officials typically do not comment on specific clandestine operations, and the shadowy nature of covert activity makes independent assessment by journalists and analysts inherently constrained.
Whatever the veracity of individual claims, the BBC interviews underscore the risks faced by Russians who say they have sided with Ukraine and the continuing tensions inside Russia as the war persists.