Russian Officer Helped Ukrainian Armed Forces Eliminate More Than 300 Occupiers — The Wall Street Journal
For several months, Russian Lieutenant Lev Stupnikov secretly passed on to Ukrainian intelligence the coordinates of Russian military positions, plans for offensive operations, and information about the Russian command. The information obtained helped the Ukrainian military eliminate more than 300 Russian occupiers.
This was reported by the American publication The Wall Street Journal.
Stupnikov graduated from the Military Academy of Communications in St. Petersburg and was deployed to the front lines near Vuhledar in November 2023. There, he served as the communications chief for a battalion of the Russian Federation’s 36th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.
The officer decided to collaborate with Ukraine after becoming disillusioned with the Russian army. According to Stupnikov, he witnessed looting by the occupiers and opposed the full-scale invasion.
In February 2024, the soldier’s mother, Tetyana Yatsen, reached out to a Ukrainian man named Dmytro Karpenko, who was working with military intelligence and helping Russian servicemen leave the army. Stupnikov agreed to pass on information but declined any monetary compensation.
One of the first operations was a strike on a concentration of Russian troops near Vuhledar. Stupnikov provided the coordinates of the location where approximately 120–150 soldiers and officers had gathered, after which he moved to a safe distance. According to the data he provided, 68 Russian soldiers were killed in the strike, and another 60 were wounded. Among those killed were ten officers, including Colonel Huseyn Musaev, commander of the 36th Motorized Rifle Brigade.
Stupnikov subsequently provided the Ukrainian side with radio frequencies, troop locations, and combat operation plans. He also disabled Russian equipment. According to the WSJ, in May 2024, thanks to the information he provided, the Ukrainian military struck a building housing two Russian assault units, killing 20 occupiers.
On the night of July 6, 2024, the officer left Russian positions and crossed the front line. Ukrainian forces monitored his route using a drone. After about 40 minutes of crossing mined terrain, he reached the positions of the 72nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
After crossing, Stupnikov handed over to the Ukrainian military a phone with access to communication channels through which they could receive footage from Russian reconnaissance drones and surveillance cameras. He later joined the Russian Volunteer Corps, which is fighting on Ukraine’s side. His mother and younger sister also left Russia.
As a reminder, on Friday, October 16, Russian terrorist forces lost 1,950 soldiers on the front lines. Thus, the enemy’s total combat losses since the full-scale invasion now stand at 1,562,970 people.
In the Huliaipole sector, Ukrainian troops destroyed a bridge that the Russian army had been using to transport ammunition and resupply its units.
Recently, during an FPV patrol near the village of Polohy, fighters from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade discovered a cache of mortar rounds. The incident occurred in the area of responsibility of the 7th Corps.
