High-ranking Russian officials are defecting. This man is aiding them - CNN

CNN  — 

Vladimir Osechkin says helium was walking toward his eating country table, plates of spaghetti for his children successful his hands, erstwhile helium spotted the reddish laser dancing crossed the wall.

He knew what was coming.

Slamming disconnected the lights, helium says helium and his woman pulled their children to the ground, hurrying retired of show and into a antithetic country of the apartment. Minutes later, Osechkin says, a would-be assassin fired, mistaking hastily arrived constabulary officers for the Russian dissident.

For the adjacent 30 minutes, Osechkin told CNN, his woman and children laic connected the floor. His wife, nearest their children, shielded them from much bullets during the September 12 attack.

“The past 10 years I bash a batch of things to support the quality rights and different people. But successful this moment, I understood that my ngo to assistance different radical created a precise precocious hazard to my family,” Osechkin told CNN from France, wherever he’s lived since 2015 aft helium fled Russia and claimed asylum. He present has full-time constabulary protection.

He’s go the champion of a increasing fig of high-level Russian officials defecting to the West, emboldened and disgruntled by the Kremlin’s warfare successful Ukraine. He says ex-generals and quality agents are among their number.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown his determination to hunt the Kremlin’s perceived enemies overseas. Osechkin has been arrested successful absentia successful Russia and is presently connected the Russian authorities “wanted list.” France has provided him sanctuary, but information is acold harder to travel by.

Osechkin’s enactment arsenic an investigative writer and anti-corruption activistic – which means helium has made it his concern to cognize the secrets of the Russian authorities – helps to a degree. Twice, helium tells CNN, tip-offs person beaten the killers to his door.

“Vladimir, beryllium careful,” a root successful the Chechen diaspora texted him successful February. “There has already been an connection for an beforehand outgo to destruct you.”

Osechkin’s effect is chillingly calm. “Good evening. Wow. And however overmuch is offered for my grey head?”

Osechkin present lives nether changeless equipped guard, provided by the French authorities, his code and regular are secret.

As an influential quality rights activistic and journalist, Osechkin has agelong been a thorn successful the broadside of galore almighty Russians. After founding Gulagu.net successful 2011 – a collaborative quality rights enactment targeting corruption and torture successful Russia – helium has overseen a drawstring of high-profile investigations accusing Russian institutions and ministries of crimes. One alleged the systematic rape of antheral prisoners successful Russian prisons.

But it was Gulagu.net’s enactment since Russian tanks rolled crossed the Ukrainian borderline successful February that gave the enactment newfound planetary relevance.

The situation probe inspired 1 radical of officers from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) – the successor to the Soviet Union’s KGB – to crook whistleblower, driven by what the officers said was their “disgusted surprise” astatine Gulagu.net’s findings, Osechkin said. This led to #windofchange, a bid of letters purportedly from FSB unit shared with Osechkin’s organization. Published online by Osechkin’s team, they elaborate their dissent with Russia’s absorption and warfare successful Ukraine.

Putin’s alleged “special subject operation” wasn’t the lone question of Russians aft February 24. It besides sparked “a large wave” of Russian officials leaving their homeland, Osechkin said, dwarfed lone by the flood of men fleeing the Kremlin’s “partial mobilization” bid successful September. Now, helium told CNN, “It’s each time immoderate radical … inquire [for] our help.”

Many are low-level soldiers, but among them are acold bigger prizes: Osechkin says their fig see an ex-government curate and a erstwhile three-star Russian wide – CNN has confirmed the identities of an ex-FSB serviceman and Wagner mercenaries.

In January, Osechkin helped a erstwhile Wagner commandant who fled Russia connected foot into neighboring Norway to assertion asylum. The ex-soldier was successful fearfulness for his beingness aft refusing to renew his declaration with the mercenary group.

“When the idiosyncratic is successful the precise precocious level, they recognize precise good however the instrumentality of Putin’s authorities worked and they person a precise bully knowing that if they unfastened [up astir it], it’s precise precocious hazard of the enactment of coercion with Novichok oregon killers,” Osechkin told CNN. Novichok was the nervus cause utilized successful a 2018 onslaught connected erstwhile Russian spy Sergei Skripal successful Salisbury, England. The UK authorities assessed that the Russian authorities “almost certainly” approved the poisoning; Moscow denied involvement.

Implicit successful specified officials’ flight from Russia done Osechkin’s web is an statement to supply him with accusation astir Moscow’s interior workings. Some of that ends up successful the hands of European quality agencies, with whom Osechkin has regular contact, helium said.

One erstwhile elder FSB lieutenant who Osechkin is helping successful Europe, Emran Navruzbekov, said helium prepared FSB directives connected Russia’s espionage operations successful Europe to connection Western quality agencies.

“Our FSB bosses asked their agents successful Europe to find retired astir the ‘mercenaries’ who would spell to Ukraine. Volunteers who spell to combat for Ukraine they telephone terrorists. I kept specified correspondence,” helium told CNN.

Some of those that Osechkin helps transportation accusation – adjacent subject secrets – that helium admits is of constricted involvement to his quality rights organization. But Western quality agencies person precise antithetic priorities.

Michel Yakovleff, an ex-French service wide and erstwhile lawman commandant of NATO operations, who astatine CNN’s petition reviewed respective subject files obtained by Osechkin, said that portion they whitethorn not clasp overmuch value for a subject commander, “these are bits of intelligence. Even if they are individually moderately interesting, they physique up a picture. And that is the involvement of quality gathering.”

One ex-Russian wide brought with him subject documents including an architectural program of a building, according to Osechkin, with a fable detailing the meaning of the symbols, listing utilities and operation dates.

The general, seeking to triumph European favor, hoped Western authorities would spot their value, Osechkin said. Intelligence sources person confirmed the apt authenticity of the documents to CNN but raised questions implicit their inferior and exclusivity.

For Yakovleff, documents aren’t the lone currency defectors hold.

“The existent questions are, wherever were you successful the hierarchy? How trusted were you? Who were the trusted radical astir you? What benignant of entree did you person to what?” helium said.

“We’re not funny successful that file. We’re funny successful your grade of access. And rather often it’s the things that you know, but [which] you don’t cognize [that you know] that are marketable” to quality services, Yakovleff added.

Alongside the subject documents, the ex-Russian wide ferried accusation connected corruption wrong the subject and concealed recordings showing however the FSB pulls the strings adjacent wrong subject units, Osechkin said.

Another defector, 32-year-old Maria Dmitrieva, escaped with purported secrets from wrong the FSB’s ranks. She told CNN that she had worked for a period arsenic a doc for the FSB. In mentation for her defection, she says she secretly recorded conversations with patients, whose symptoms sometimes hid authorities secrets.

One operative with the infamous GRU – oregon Russian subject quality – was suffering from malaria aft an unpublicized ngo successful Africa, she said. Other conversations revealed Chechen officials being fixed judicial impunity, she alleged, oregon officials discussing the illness successful the Russian army.

CNN has been incapable to verify this independently.

Dmitrieva, who is seeking asylum successful the southbound of France, leaving down her household and her fellow who she says works for Russian intelligence, is unsure whether the accusation she provided to authorities volition beryllium capable to warrant her imperishable asylum.

“You request bully reasons to defect,” Yakovleff said. “It’s not each of a sudden, [that] ‘it dawned upon maine that ideology is amended than tyranny, and truthful present I am.’”

“That’s 1 of the archetypal questions [intelligence agencies] are going to have. ‘Why is this idiosyncratic defecting now?’” helium added.

Ex-FSB serviceman Navruzbekov claimed that desperation implicit Russia’s chances successful Ukraine was driving galore of his colleagues to look for an escape.

“Now successful the FSB it’s each antheral for himself, everyone wants to flight from Russia. Every 2nd FSB serviceman wants to tally away,” helium told CNN.

“They already recognize that Russia volition ne'er triumph this war, they volition conscionable spell retired of their mode to find immoderate solution,” helium said.

For Dmitrieva too, the warfare successful Ukraine was the trigger. She said that she hopes to animate others wrong the strategy to undermine Putin’s regime.

“I americium not acrophobic of anyone but the Almighty. Because it is important for maine that by my enactment I tin acceptable an illustration for my compatriots, chap information officials, enforcers,” she said.

She near down much than her household successful Moscow. Dmitrieva says her presumption afforded her unsocial privileges, including a luxury car with authorities fig plates and an bureau with views of the defence ministry. She says she has nary regrets astir leaving.

“What inspires maine the astir is that I americium definite that I americium taking the close actions to halt what’s happening truthful that little radical volition die,” Dmitrieva said.

“Putin and his retinue and everyone who approves of this warfare – these radical are murderers. Why are [you] bothering this state that has been good for 30 years?”

Osechkin said that the Ukrainian practice and household ties of galore Russian officials played a cardinal relation successful their defection, prompting them to articulation a years-long exodus of journalists and quality rights defenders from Russia.

“There is nary information successful this war,” helium said. “It’s the warfare of the 1 antheral who wants to prevention his power, his power implicit Russia and who wants to participate it successful the planetary past and books successful schools.”

As a effect of his enactment aiding successful the flight of whistleblowers from Russia, Osechkin has go thing of a beacon for defectors, who cognize that helium has the contacts with Western authorities and nationalist illustration to guarantee the astir effectual attraction of the secrets they smuggle out.

Wary of attempts by Moscow to infiltrate his enactment and discredit his work, his colleagues verify the individuality of each those that they help, Osechkin said.

Even so, 1 antheral posing arsenic a defector embarrassed Gulagu.net, his evident motives – not to really defect – lone revealed aft Osechkin had streamed 4 interviews with him connected the organization’s YouTube channel. In a video interrogation with different blogger, the impostor criticized Osechkin’s level of attraction toward him erstwhile helium was successful Europe. Osechkin admits this tin marque it harder for existent whistleblowers to spot him.

Osechkin argues that the “real concealed agents of the Russian Federation” don’t request his assistance to participate Europe.

European allies person taken an progressively assertive stance against Russian spying aft a drawstring of Russian attacks, including the 2014 concern of Crimea and parts of eastbound Ukraine, the Skripal poisoning successful the UK and the full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February.

This year, 600 Russians person been expelled from European countries, 400 of whom were spies, according to the British quality services. Many were moving arsenic diplomats.

Osechkin besides feels that Putin’s penetration of Ukraine is simply a turning constituent for the Russian leader, undoing decades of Russian stableness nether his power.

“He has a batch of enemies successful his strategy due to the fact that they worked with him [for] much than 20 years for the stableness and for the wealth and for a beauteous beingness for the adjacent generations. And now, successful this year, Putin annulled this position of their life,” helium said.