From Moscow Lawyer to Ukrainian Spy

The independent publication Verstka interviewed a Moscow lawyer who abandoned a successful career and family to fight alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine and ended up working as a Ukrainian intelligence agent inside the Russian army. For the safety of those involved, Verstka changed the subjects’ names.

Dmitry Vorobyov, 43, had a successful legal career, his own business in Moscow, a wife, and two young children before the start of Russia’s War on Ukraine. Politically active, he supported opposition causes, including Alexei Navalny.

According to Vorobyov, the full-scale invasion shocked him. “I looked at people in the subway, at people in court hearings deciding bankruptcy cases, and thought: ‘Guys, what are you doing? Are you idiots or something? You need to go to Red Square,’” Vorobyov told Verstka.

By the summer 2022, Vorobyov decided he "could no longer remain inactive" and resolved to join Ukrainian forces. He studied maps and found a route to cross the Belarus-Ukraine border unnoticed. Ukrainian authorities detained him for illegally crossing the border, fined him, and sentenced him to eight days of administrative arrest. oVerstka confirmed these details through court documents.

Vorobyov, however, never served the sentence. Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) officers took him directly from court to Lutsk, where he was held and interrogated with polygraph tests for two weeks.

Unable to join Ukrainian forces, Vorobyov returned to Russia via Belarus, maintaining contacts with SBU agents through WhatsApp. Then Vorobyov developed a plan: he would join the Russian army to relay frontline intelligence to Ukraine. The plan was approved in SBU, and in June 2023, he enlisted through a Moscow recruitment center.

After two weeks of training in Volgograd, Vorobyov’s unit deployed to Crimea. Vorobyov described approximately 70% to 80% of his fellow soldiers as having criminal backgrounds. “Lost people. Like me, a lost person trying to find himself by going to war,” he reflected.

Vorobyov's company was later transferred to Krynki village in Ukraine's occupied Kherson region, site of a significant Ukrainian breakthrough in 2023. Vorobyov believes he contributed to Ukraine’s success: “I don't know exactly why they went through Krynki, but I think my role wasn’t insignificant.”

He provided Ukrainian forces with details about troop locations, weaponry, and targets for strikes. Vorobyov believes other Ukrainian agents were also present, citing an officer from a neighboring company who reportedly swam across the Dnieper River to defect.

Russian losses in Krynki were heavy, according to Vorobyov. “From October to December, 80% of our personnel were lost. The ratio was one killed to three wounded. Of 96 people, only 20 remained active,” he stated.

Counterintelligence arrived later to investigate the breach in Krynki. Vorobyov narrowly avoided detection. "They checked my phone, which contained all my communications with coordinates. I calmly handed it over; they didn’t find anything because I had a hidden space," he explained.

In February 2024, Vorobyov was wounded in a drone attack and hospitalized in Moscow. In spring 2024, following his recovery, he again sought to join Ukrainian forces. "My family fell apart—my wife couldn’t handle it. I didn't want to return to war from Russia. I told my contacts in Lutsk I was tired of playing Stirlitz (a famous fictional Soviet spy) and preferred joining them. They agreed," Vorobyov recounted.

He bought tickets to Yerevan and Simferopol as a cover and successfully left Russia. However, Ukraine rejected his request to enter, prompting him to explore other options. After interviewing with the Freedom of Russia Legion, Vorobyov moved to another undisclosed country, where he is looking for a way to officially join Ukrainian forces.

During his interview with Verstka, Vorobyov turned on his frontline phone to share wartime photos and found warnings from former comrades: "Be careful, you've been declared AWOL."