Foma, a military commentator for The Breakfast Show YouTube channel and co-founder of the Telegram channel Volya, said in a stream on The Breakfast Show that he was one of the people featured in the BBC documentary "People from the Shadows: Russian Saboteurs Against Putin."
The film, released on 19 October, alleged that Foma warned Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ministry of Defence in early 2022 about Russia's impending invasion. The BBC also reported that Ukrainian intelligence confirmed cooperation with Foma and another subject of the film, a Russian man identified as Ivan.
Foma denies working with security services. He said he never received money from them or carried out their assignments. On air, he said he had spent many years in Russia and neighboring countries doing consulting, political technology, journalism and corporate intelligence, which gave him many sources in various agencies.
In 2021, during a work trip to southern Russia, Foma said he encountered signs of a preparations for an invasion: Russian military personnel in civilian clothes were present in border settlements. He checked his suspicions through contacts linked to the army and passed the information to acquaintances in Ukraine, including military personnel but not military intelligence.
Foma also called false the BBC article's claim that Ukrainian intelligence confirmed cooperation with him. He said Ukrainian military personnel helped him leave Russia for Europe after the war began.
The commentator acknowledged that he and his team collect and exchange information in Russia but denied surveilling generals. He said he was not involved in the killing of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the operational training directorate of the Russian General Staff, who died in December 2025. The film suggested that Foma helped Ukrainian intelligence gather information about the general.
The Telegram channel Volya issued a separate statement: "Neither we nor Foma have anything to do with the elimination of Russian generals." According to Foma, the correspondence shown in the film is "apparently artificial intelligence," and he was merely explaining to journalists how Russian generals hide and how they can be found.
Stream host Alexander Plyushchev said he requested an interview with the film's producer and director but was refused "for corporate reasons." He also appealed to BBC World Service management demanding comment on the journalistic work of BBC Eye.
Accounts diverge: the BBC asserts that Ukrainian intelligence confirmed cooperation with Foma and that his group helped gather information about General Sarvarov before the killing. Foma and the Telegram channel Volya deny this, insisting there was no work with security services and no surveillance of generals, and that the correspondence in the film was fabricated.