I'm a former officer of the Russian Federation Air Force. I designated targets for bomber pilots. How do you feel when you see these images? Pain, shock. When I found out they were going to use hypersonic missiles, I knew this would have terrible consequences. I had to act. Many will say: This man is a traitor. I hope my children will understand me. P U T I N ' S W A R R I O R S A RUSSIAN AIR FORCE OFFICER SPEAKS OUT We meet Nikolay at a secret location outside of Russia. The former air force
officer is on the run. He wants to remain anonymous. I still have friends in the air force, who are on active duty. And I have many relatives in Russia. And of course, I'm worried about their future. That's why I'm asking you, to alter my voice and all this. How do you feel here? Above all, I feel safe here and safe is good. Despite everything I have behind me, I'm still a patriot. I am a patriot and love my country. Since I was little, I have watched these old Soviet movies. Especially those ab
out the air force, I loved them. I just liked the airplanes and the sky. There's a saying with us: Once you've seen the sky, you grow wings, you want to fly. I always wanted to be part of that. That was my dream, too. But I have bad eyesight, so it didn't turn out the way I wanted. Instead of becoming a pilot, Nikolay started training as a ground officer. In the military academy, we had very good and experienced instructors. They always talked about how it was in the 90s. Back then, the army was
broke. Instead of showing up for service, officers preferred to drive taxis to somehow get their families through. It was a complete collapse. When Putin came to power, it got better in the first few years. There was food and good uniforms. As officer cadets, we were well equipped. We were really happy. Who are you? What are you capable of? How can you sleep peacefully, without knowing that? The crucial thing is who you can be. Of course, I was proud to finally be an officer. But what happened
after that... After his training, Nikolay started his service at an air force base in southern Russia. After a few months, the runway was inspected. Normally, these runways are of course lit at night. But during the check, the lighting didn't work. And then bribery took place. And then it was just accepted. But in reality, the pilots landed by sight. God knows how. You have no idea what sums are involved, these are billions. That's not normal, that's our corruption. Back then, I didn't get it ye
t. That in our place, more was stolen than built. In 2015, Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war. To keep the dictator Assad in power, Putin sent his bomber fleet. He primarily attacked cities from the air. Supposedly, to break the morale of Assad's opponents. That's when I started asking myself questions for the first time. We were officially supposed to intervene in Syria, to restore order. I coordinated the long-range bombers. My workplace was not in Syria, but on an air force base where
these bombers took off. I received targets and instructions. I passed them on to the pilots in operational briefings. I told them "here is the list of targets" and so on. It all went through me. Then I checked targets and hits. And it all didn't match up. I sent all the information through encrypted channels to the Ministry of Defense. Russian planes have flown in Syria 59 combat missions against 212 targets. The terrorists suffered heavy losses in people and material. In the last 24 hours, more
than 320 terrorists were killed. I realized that the reports from Lieutenant General Konashenkov and the Ministry of Defense had nothing to do with reality. When they destroyed residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, they simply said they were ISIS terrorists. Why? Why did they order that? I had more and more questions, but no one answered. They didn't want public outcry. It pains me that I was part of it. In 2020, I left the army. As Russian troops invade Ukraine, Nikolay follows th
e events as a civilian. Still, he is well-informed. Although I was no longer in service, my former colleagues are also my friends, who studied and served with me. These are really good relationships. These are people who also see what's really going on. I knew right away: It can't be that bombings occur without civilians dying. I also followed Telegram channels. And it was clear: My country is invading a neighboring state. Comrades, officers. Your fathers and grandfathers didn't fight the Nazis
and defended the homeland, so that today Nazis can take power in Ukraine. I have lots of friends and acquaintances in Ukraine. They never talked about Nazis. Nobody saw any Nazis there. The Russian propaganda, the Russian liars are rambling about a special operation against our military. But this war is against civilians. More than 800 buildings were destroyed by rockets, kamikaze drones in our city alone. And nearly 200 civilians have died. The Russians always tried to shoot very early. Four, f
ive in the morning, around this time people were still sleeping. It was a shock to me. I mean, if you want war, let two armies fight on the battlefield, where no civilians, children, and old people die. The Russian army besieges Mariupol in the south of Ukraine for months. The city is systematically razed to the ground. More than 90 percent of the residential buildings are damaged or destroyed. Thousands die. I had practically never been abroad before. Nowhere, only once in Mariupol. I participa
ted in military competitions there. Back then it was peaceful. Everything was good. But what have we turned it into? How do you feel when you see what Mariupol looks like now? Pain. Pain, shock. Can I take a break? Of course. Sorry. It's hard. There are moments in life when you have to make a decision. That was such a crossroads. Which path should I take? We now have Vladimir Osetchkin from France, head of the human rights organization Gulagu.net. Vladimir, tell us about your anti-war project. W
e are calling for sharing and publishing information about war crimes committed by the Russian army since the invasion of Ukraine. (Nikolay) I sent them a few documents. This proved that I'm really an insider. He was an officer for years with the highest level of clearance. He had access to state secrets, to information of utmost importance. Encrypted data of the Russian military. I told him that I still had contacts that I could use. The story got going when on the night of May 2, 2023, the Kre
mlin was attacked with drones. Cell phone videos show a drone striking the Kremlin. The attack in the heart of the capital provoked calls for retaliation. (Nikolay) I immediately checked Russian Telegram channels. I saw that something was moving. I called Vladimir and said: I can use my connections. Let's find out if something will really happen. (Nikolay) Stay online. If anything happens, I'll contact you right away. (Vladimir) I'll be here, because this is quite important. Let's keep our finge
r on the pulse. Okay, good. Good, thank you. Then he received a warning. About an attack on Kyiv. With ballistic missiles. I got all the information: Which air force base, which aircraft type. And of course, which weapon, a Kinzhal missile. They call it "Analogovnet". "Unparalleled". It flies supersonic and so on. It's a wonder weapon, as Putin presented it and nobody can stop it. We called the system "Kinzhal", dagger. Video on, please. The new super weapon is launched from aircraft and acceler
ates to ten times the speed of sound. This is usually too fast for modern air defense systems. Exactly this missile was being prepared. We learned this from Nikolay's sources in the evening. (Nikolay) I was able to speak to the head of the relevant special unit. He said, "we are preparing, I'll tell you more later". (Vladimir) So the missiles are being made combat-ready? He said, "we are making everything combat-ready". Vladimir Putin is thus preparing a targeted, asymmetrical retaliatory strike
. (Nikolay) The missile can carry nuclear warheads. The casualty figures are hard to imagine. (Vladimir) I am extremely worried. (Nikolay) Me too, because the information comes directly from the Kremlin. I decided to act. I researched further. And I found out when the attack was going to happen and which plane was going to be used. I passed the information on to Vladimir, who in turn passed it on. That's how we had discussed it. I immediately handed this information over to the Ukrainian army. T
his was a tough nut for our air defense. The Patriot defense system is a highly sophisticated system, which can identify, track, and reliably neutralize targets. But these missiles are hard to identify and hit. Late at night around 11 PM, I started a live stream. Hello subscribers of Gulagu.net. This is a very important stream. As the call spread on Telegram, a real hype developed. Viewers reported preparations and the takeoff of a MIG 31 from the Akhtubinsk air force base. I am now trying to pr
event a war crime that might be committed this evening. I had to try to directly address pilots or military personnel on site. So they don't carry out criminal orders from the Kremlin. But the planes with the deadly cargo took off as scheduled. In the meantime, the air defense of Ukraine and NATO had been put on the highest state of alert. I got the message from our commander-in-chief. The message was: "Mr. Minister, maybe, possibly, we have shot down a Kinzhal. But we need to check the fragment
s." And after two hours he texted: "Done, proven, it's the Kinzhal." I asked again and again: "Are you sure?". He explained, the markings, what does this part of the missile mean, that belongs to the Kinzhal. And then I was overjoyed that it worked. (Speaker) Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko inspects the wreckage. He is relieved, that this attack claimed no innocent lives. (Nikolay) I'm seeing this for the first time. I don't know what to say. I don't feel like a hero. I did what was necessary. Aft
er the Kinzhal was shot down, authorities in Russia started looking for the traitor. (Vladimir) We lost contact with him for more than twelve hours. No more news from him. And then he reported back and told that FSB agents had arrested him. (Nikolay) Until about two in the morning, the FSB guys interrogated me. They gave me a fat lip. And roughed me up a bit in the interrogation room. But somehow, he managed to convince them, they had caught the wrong guy. They let him go and said: "Sorry, kid,
it's our job." (Nikolay) For me, it was time to disappear. (Vladimir) I told him: Buy tickets. Fly to a city from which you can leave by bus. (Nikolay) Then I chose my path, that I no longer wanted to live in this state. I am still a patriot. I love my homeland. I would prefer to live there, but not under these circumstances. We are hostages of a situation where people are powerless. I have decided, to do everything to live in a normal country. When we arrived at the border, I was worried and su
per nervous. But there were no problems. And so I was able to leave the country. Now it seems like another life. A second conversation, this time in Germany, three months after the first interview. We start the recording. How have you been in the meantime? (Nikolay) I have been flown to a third country. I testified there to investigators of the International Criminal Court. It was a team of five plus an interpreter. They were highly professional. Imagine this: We worked seven days from morning t
o evening. I gave them a lot of information. Hundreds of gigabytes of data about Syria and Ukraine. About private mercenary companies and so on. It was hard, morally hard. What I have done, means in Russia three to four times life imprisonment. But I have not betrayed my country. I am just telling the truth. After the first hearing, Nikolay travels to Turkey. My family was also able to be evacuated. I can now go for a walk with my wife. The kids jump on the trampoline. That's very, very nice. On
ly planes scare me, no matter where I am. Nikolay now lives with his family under a new identity in another country.
Comments