GUR confirms links to two Russians describing covert work for Ukraine

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has confirmed that two Russian men interviewed for a BBC investigation work for it, according to the broadcaster. One describes helping to prepare strikes from inside Russia; the other says he directs a network that tracks Russian officers. The BBC says it could not verify the activities either man claims to have carried out. [1]

The men, identified by the pseudonyms Ivan and Foma, spoke to journalist Marcin Mamon for a BBC World Service documentary. Ivan says he has surveyed military sites and found places to hide drone components ahead of potential attacks. He also claims a role in strikes on strategic bombers and munitions factories. He sent Mamon a video in which he apparently hides explosives near a Russian military airfield, but it does not establish his part in any particular strike. [1]

Foma, who lives in Poland, says he directs volunteers who follow Russian officers and pass information to Ukraine’s military intelligence service, known as the GUR. He says they do not carry out attacks themselves. Mamon watched him give an online lesson about following an officer, the BBC reports; he did not witness the volunteers conducting surveillance or passing on intelligence. Foma puts the size of his network at about three dozen people across Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. [1]

After Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was killed by an explosive under his car in Moscow on 22 December 2025, Foma told Mamon he had provided intelligence about him. At the time, Russia’s Investigative Committee said involvement by Ukrainian intelligence was one of several possibilities it was examining. Sarvarov’s death does not establish who organised the attack or whether Foma contributed to it. [1] [2] [3]

Questions remain about Ivan, too. A GUR contact interviewed by Mamon could not rule out the possibility that he also worked for Russia, willingly or under duress. The BBC also reports that Ivan had warned Mamon more than a year before a major Ukrainian strike on strategic bombers that such an attack was coming, though he gave no date or location. Neither account establishes his role in that operation. [1]