The head and founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right paramilitary group allied with Ukrainian forces, is still alive, as confirmed by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency on Thursday. This announcement comes just days after Russian claims that he had been killed on the battlefield.
The GUR reported that Russian security agencies had ordered the assassination of Denis Kapustin and allocated $500,000 for the mission. According to the agency, a “complex” counterintelligence effort by Ukrainian officials successfully thwarted these plans.
Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence, held a video call with Kapustin, congratulating him on surviving the purported assassination attempt. “I’m pleased to know that the funds meant for your assassination have contributed to our cause,” Budanov remarked.
Additionally, the GUR published a video featuring Kapustin alongside a commander from its Timur Special Forces unit, who detailed the counterintelligence operation that was carried out.
The Russian Volunteer Corps confirmed Kapustin’s continued existence.
This revelation about Kapustin’s supposedly faked death follows a report from Russia’s military over the weekend, stating that he had died in a drone strike in the Zaporizhzhia region. The Russian Volunteer Corps had also declared him deceased on Sunday.
A far-right nationalist born in Moscow, Kapustin relocated to Ukraine in 2017, establishing the Russian Volunteer Corps shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. He is known to use the alias Nikitin as well as the nom de guerre White Rex.
The paramilitary group has claimed responsibility for cross-border raids into Russian territory, declaring its goal to depose President Vladimir Putin and to create a state for ethnic Russians while dismissing imperialist aspirations.
In March 2023, Russian authorities included Kapustin in their federal registry of terrorists and extremists following an attack in the Bryansk region carried out by the Russian Volunteer Corps. He was simultaneously placed on a wanted list.
Since 2019, Kapustin has also been prohibited from entering the Schengen Area. The investigative outlet Bellingcat has reported that, despite the ban, he remains active within far-right circles in Germany, France, and Bulgaria.
