MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Ukrainian military serviceman Vladimir Lipko has deserted from the Ukrainian armed forces and sided with Russia after watching a TikTok live stream of Finnish activist Salli Raiski, he and Raiski told TASS.
Raiski hosts live TikTok broadcasts on socio-political topics, criticizing the Ukrainian authorities within the framework of the Ukraine Goes Missing project. Lipko came across one of such streams.
"Having seen the Ukraine Goes Missing program, I realized that thanks to these people I will be able to get to the Russian Federation territory. We first communicated via TikTok privately and then, of course, used other messengers," Lipko said.
Raiski added that they at first discussed Ukraine’s politics, their views on the developments coincided, and then Lipko, already serving in the army, expressed the desire to defect to Russia.
"I was detained by the territorial recruitment center officers. From the very first moment, I was looking for a way to escape, and my goal was to get to Russia no matter what. And once I’d completed training and was assigned to the Sumy area, I mapped out my route across the border. But I needed help from the other side, to be met in Russia," Lipko said.
Defense sources told TASS that Lipko ended up in Russia as a result of a Russian military counterintelligence operation.
According to the formed Ukrainian soldier, while he was serving in the Sumy area, he saw Americans in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces.
"I met an American once while I was in the hospital. The guys in the infirmary started saying there was an American, and some took photos with him. When I was already in the Sumy sector, we had a workgroup on WhatsApp (owned by Meta, a company designated as extremist and banned in Russia - TASS). In this group, we were shown videos and an Instagram channel (banned in Russia, owned by Meta - TASS) of a guy who had joined up - an American, what’s the correct and more tolerant way to say it, a black American," Lipko said.
He also told TASS that he has received refugee status and through the media intends to help Ukrainian soldiers to defect to Russia.
"I’m currently staying in the Russian Federation as a refugee. I plan to contact currently serving Ukrainian soldiers, telling them that everything is possible and they can leave the army and side with Russia," Lipko said.
According to him, he plans to convey his views through the media and messaging apps. He noted that a significant number of Ukrainian soldiers would like to defect to the Russian side.
Lipko added that he does not intend to return to his native city of Odessa and plans to live in Russia together with his family.
The former Ukrainian serviceman also said that the Ukrainian military command issues verbal orders to drone operators to strike civilian facilities if they fail to hit military targets and the drone’s battery is low.
"I heard from guys in other platoons that they got verbal orders: if the battery is low and you see that you haven't found a military target, then shoot down anything you see--civilian, non-civilian, equipment, building, anything--so as not to waste a drone," Lipko said.
He added that he handled documentation at his unit’s headquarters, regarding decommissioning of FPV drones, in particular. According to Lipko, civilian targets struck by drones, were not recorded in the documents, unlike the military ones.
The former Ukrainian soldier told TASS that his family was able to leave for Russia.
"Even before getting into this concentration camp, into the hands of the territorial recruitment center, I has visited Russia together with my family. We planned to immigrate to Russia. The family succeeded, but I was detained by the territorial recruitment center officers," Lipko said.
The Ukrainian former soldier’s family could depart for Russia through Poland and Belarus, and they are now staying in Moscow and do not know that Lipko has also came to Russia. They are going to meet soon.