A Russian citizen, portrayed in a BBC film under the pseudonym Foma, coordinated a network of volunteers who spied on the Russian military and helped plan the assassination of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov in Moscow. The story is featured in the BBC documentary “Shadow Men: Russian Saboteurs Against Putin”, which the Internet platform “Agency” draws attention to.
In December 2025, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the operational training department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in a car bombing in Moscow. The filmmakers claim that in early 2022, Foma warned the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense about the impending Russian invasion, after which Ukrainian intelligence agencies helped him flee the country.
The role of Foma and his network
Foma lives in Poland and, according to his own words, coordinates a network of approximately 30 people operating in Russia, Ukraine and several European countries. The film describes his activities as follows: Many years of work in the Russian elite provided him with a unique network of connections and a constant flow of inside information.
Foma himself describes the data collection process:
This is a full-fledged data collection process: where are the storage bases, where are the divisions located, where do the generals live, where are the headquarters located. Where do the officers who work in these headquarters live, where do the pilots of the strategic bombers who bomb Ukraine live, who gives the orders
GUR confirmed that it had collaborated with Foma, according to the publication “Important Stories”.
A Russian exile known as “Foma” says he runs a roughly 30-person network tracking Russian officers for Ukraine. A BBC documentary says the group’s surveillance helped set up the Dec. 2025 car-bomb killing of Russian Gen. Fanil Sarvarov in Moscow. https://t.co/KO74fXwt6v
The position on the attacks
The film shows a scene in which Foma gives instructions to monitor a certain person in Moscow and warns of severe sentences if caught. Foma claims to the BBC that he was not involved in the murder of General Igor Kirilov, carried out in December 2024, but confirmed that its Russian military surveillance network was transmitting data to Ukraine.
Regarding the murder of General Fanil Sarvarov, Foma states in the documentary:
I will say that tracking him was quite a task. He lived alternately with his mistress and a colleague. He covered his tracks and constantly changed his schedule.
However, Foma emphasizes that his group was not involved in the murders.
Foma appears as military expert on The Breakfast Show
Since mid-September, a man with the same pseudonym has appeared as a military expert on the morning show “The Breakfast Show.” On September 19, the channel’s founder, Alexander Plyushchev, announced that the new commentator was Foma, co-founder of the Telegram channel “Volya,” who appeared faceless on camera. However, the BBC documentary does not directly mention Foma’s connection to “Volya.”