Russian special services are increasingly recruiting Ukrainian women for sabotage, arson, artillery spotting, and even assassinations. Dozens have already been convicted of treason and collaboration with the enemy.
Who are these women? What drives them to work for Russian intelligence during a full-scale war—money, ideology, personal grievances, or the manipulations of recruiters?
In the documentary FSB Ballerinas, Slidstvo.Info journalists uncover the stories of women who ended up on the other side of the war. Among them is 23-year-old Nastya Yasagashvili, who collaborated with the Russians in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and received a 15-year prison sentence. There’s also Viktoria Khvyl—one of only three Ukrainian women currently serving life sentences for treason in penal colonies.
To understand how recruitment works from within, the journalists conducted their own experiment. Posing as a young woman, they contacted recruiters and corresponded with their handler for a month. During this time, they were offered money to carry out arson, sabotage, and even the assassination of a Ukrainian soldier.
How do Russian special services find new female agents? Why do these women agree to cooperate? And what awaits those who become part of these schemes?
Watch the new Slidstvo.Info documentary.
