Russian officer Lev Stupnikov says he leaked intelligence to Ukraine before crossing the front line

Centre · 2Lev Stupnikov, a Russian army lieutenant and chief signals officer, secretly gave Ukraine troop positions, radio frequencies and operational plans, helping Kyiv kill more than 300 Russian soldiers, according to a Wall Street Journal report relayed by The Times of India and Hindustan Times. 1 2 Centre · 2Both outlets say his first major operation was a Russian training exercise near the front line in eastern Ukraine. He photographed the troops, estimated their numbers and sent exact coordinates to his Ukrainian handler, then moved away before missiles struck. 1 2 Centre · 2Asked to confirm the damage, he replied "There's just meat". He then reported 68 Russian soldiers killed and 60 wounded, including 10 officers and Colonel Gusein Musayev, commander of the 36th Motor Rifle Brigade. 1 2

Centre · 2Times of India dates that strike to February 2024. Hindustan Times places it near Vuhledar, says he gave a head count of 120 to 150 personnel beforehand, and says he had started sharing information earlier that month. 1 2 Centre · 2Later tips reportedly led to a March strike that killed several officers at a brigade gathering, and a May strike on the basement of a former hotel that killed 20 soldiers, including a captain. Another tip led to an attack on a brigade command post during a meeting of senior officers. 1 2 Centre · 2He also reportedly sabotaged equipment by disabling cameras monitoring Ukrainian territory and tampering with a drone controller's battery pack so that it overheated and malfunctioned during a mission. 1 2

Centre · 1Times of India says repeated losses made Russian commanders suspect a spy, and that Stupnikov accidentally sent his contact a map screenshot showing his own basement, which was then struck. He survived. 1 Centre · 1Hindustan Times adds that he opposed the war from the February 2022 full-scale invasion, saying "They were dropping bombs on innocent civilians... It was evil." It says his mother, Tatiana, contacted programmer Dmytro Karpenko, who works with Ukrainian military intelligence, to get him out of the army. Karpenko connected him with Ukrainian intelligence and later arranged his defection. 2 Centre · 2Both describe his crossing near the village of Mykilske. He left his weapons behind and was guided by a Ukrainian drone. Ukrainian troops challenged him, and he gave the pre-agreed password "Peanut shop". He was then searched and blindfolded. 1 2

Centre · 2The outlets differ on timing. Times of India says the instructions came in July 2024. Hindustan Times says early July 2026, though it also describes his Ukrainian contacts and the first strikes as happening in 2024, so the later date may be an error. 1 2 Centre · 2Times of India says he handed over a smartphone with access codes to several communication channels, allowing live feeds from Russian drones and surveillance cameras to continue. It adds that he later joined the Russian Volunteer Corps, a Ukrainian army unit of Russians opposed to Vladimir Putin, and now fights against Russian forces. Hindustan Times says his case was part of a wider Ukrainian effort to recruit Russian informants through encrypted platforms. 1 2 Centre · 2The account rests on the Wall Street Journal's reporting as relayed by these two outlets. Neither reports Russian confirmation or comment, and Hindustan Times uses "allegedly" and "reportedly" for some details. 2 1