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This is the moment a Russian soldier blew up his unit’s base before making a dramatic defection to Ukraine.
Footage shows a first person view (FPV) drone pilot, known only by his call-sign ‘Silver’, destroying the camp before switching sides.
Officers are seen in the clip cleaning their weapons and talking before going to bed.
A huge firestorm then erupts in the basement dormitory, which contained around 15 men at the time.
The explosion, which occurred at the Storm-Z unit, severely wounded the battalion’s commander, reports said.
A grab showing the moment a Russian soldier blew up his own camp before defecting to the Ukrainian front line
The first person view (FPV) drone pilot blew up the headquarters of a Storm-Z unit
Storm-Z units are usually comprised of ex-convicts and former mercanaries.
Silver’s attack and defection were months in the making, having been meticulously planned with the help of the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL).
Once out of the unit’s base, the FPV drone pilot threw infantry mines on the road outside before taking a pre-arranged route to the Ukrainian front line.
In a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, Silver said he had grown disillusioned with his unit after watching it commit atrocities.
He added that he had signed up ‘to protect my motherland’, not to ‘die for Putin’.
The explosion engulfed the basement dormitory, where 15 commanders were sleeping
A commander in the FRL with the call-sign ‘Caesar’ told the Telegraph that the defection showed how ‘clever, brave people’ could help to overthrow Putin’s regime.
He added that the drone pilot would soon join the front line to fight against Putin’s forces.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate said that ‘Silver’ had provided ‘valuable intelligence’ Russian battle plans and unit positions.
Ukraine’s forces have been running a programme to convert disenfranchised Russian soldiers dubbed ‘I want to live’.
