According to the Associated Press, a Russian officer who opposed the invasion of Ukraine surrendered and provided intelligence that helped Ukrainian special forces seize part of a key river this fall.
Amphibious units at the center of Ukraine's elite special forces had tried to seize Russian positions along the Dnieper River, but Russia blew up a dam upstream in June, causing villages and towns to be flooded and Ukrainian forces forced to retreat. After the water level dropped in July, Russian forces reoccupied the side of the river.
Subsequently, the special forces unit was given a new mission to recapture an island near the village of Klinki, but the Russian army used artillery fire and Iskander missiles to drive them away.
However, then a Russian officer and 11 soldiers offered Ukrainian intelligence a willingness to cooperate. They surrendered to the Ukrainian special services and revealed the situation with the remaining Russian units. This helped the Ukrainian special forces break through the Russian lines and take control of an occupied village across the river.
The village is a small breakthrough for Ukraine in a bloody stalemate with Russian invading forces. In addition to being a bridgehead on both sides, the Dnieper remains a powerful natural barrier between the occupied territories of Ukraine and Russia.