Russian pilot leaked personnel data on Russian aviation division to Ukraine, source says

A Russian pilot passed on confidential information to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) that helped identify 30 commanders of the Russian heavy bomber aviation division, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent on July 11.

The Russian pilot who served in the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division contacted the HUR on July 8 after the Russian attack on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital. The pilot provided personal information, including photos and other confidential documents, on 30 Russian commanders, the source added.

The pilot passed the information through the Ukrainian state chatbot, Diia, on Telegram, according to the source.

"He was shocked by the attack on the children's hospital, so he decided to hand over to the Ukrainian side documents related to the activities of his military unit, as well as private photos of the command staff," the source said.

The 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division is stationed at the Engels airfield in Russia's Saratov Oblast, hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine. This division regularly strikes Ukraine with Kh-101 cruise missiles using strategic bombers.

Russian forces launched a missile attack on Kyiv on July 8, killing 33 and injuring 121 others. One Russian missile directly struck the Okhmatdyt children's hospital.

The attack against the medical facility killed two people, including a doctor, and wounded 32 others. The strike also destroyed one building and damaged four others in the hospital.

The attack was carried out with the Kh-101 cruise missile in accordance with a programmed route. The strike was deliberate, a source in one of Ukraine's top security agencies said.

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Nurse Olesia Filonenko was preparing for the first operation of the day at the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv when she heard explosions “somewhere far away.” “Then, in a second, everything was blown away,” she told the Kyiv Independent. “Dust, smoke. We were all blown out of the operating r…

The Kyiv IndependentChris York