Ukraine was able to “fool” Moscow into giving away half a million dollars for information on who was responsible for “killing” a top general who was alive this whole time
Ukraine has been accused of orchestrating a fake assassination of an anti-Kremlin Russian fighter. Denis Kapustin, who heads the Russian Volunteer Corps, is very much alive, despite reports claiming he’d been eliminated in a drone attack last week.
Ukraine’s military had declared that Kapustin, also going by Denis Nikitin and “White Rex”, had been taken out by an FPV drone in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Word of Kapustin’s alleged death prompted heartfelt tributes from his comrades.
“We will definitely avenge you, Denis. Your legacy lives on,” the RVC posted on Telegram, vowing to reveal further details about his supposed demise. Yet Ukrainian military intelligence confessed on Thursday (January 1) that the killing was staged as part of an intricate covert operation to protect Kapustin’s life.
The ruse also duped Russia into handing over a $500,000 (approximately £370,000) reward. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) Telegram channel shared footage of a very much alive Kapustin, standing beside intelligence boss Kyrylo Budanov, who praised Kapustin on his “return to life”.
GUR revealed that Kapustin’s assassination “was ordered by the special services of the aggressor state Russia, which allocated half a million dollars to carry out the crime.” The agency added: “As a result of a comprehensive special operation,’ his life ‘was preserved, and the circle of individuals was identified: the masterminds within the Russian special services and the perpetrators.”
Budanov branded Kapustin “Putin’s personal enemy” and revealed the elaborate ruse had taken over a month to execute. “A failure of Russian secret services — the RVC commander is alive, and the half a million dollars received for his ‘killing’ will strengthen DIU special units,” he declared, according to the Express US.
Kapustin himself claimed his vanishing act had minimal battlefield impact, insisting that his “temporary absence had no impact on the work of the units”. He also “reported his readiness to continue carrying out combat and special tasks as the head of the unit,” GUR confirmed.
The exposure of this scheme represents a significant humiliation for the Kremlin, which had banked on reports of Kapustin’s demise after supposedly ordering his assassination and placing a massive price on his head. A former footballer and far-right campaigner from Russia, Kapustin remains a divisive character.
He spent much of his youth in Germany before relocating to Kyiv in 2017. He operated the White Rex clothing label and organised mixed martial arts competitions, establishing himself as a key player in extremist circles.
He has been barred from the European Schengen zone since 2019 owing to his connections with far-right factions in the MMA world. Several of his fighters have publicly voiced neo-Nazi beliefs.
Following Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine in 2022, Kapustin established the RVC to battle alongside Ukrainian forces. The organisation has conducted cross-border incursions into Russia and faces a ban in the country, where it’s classified as a terrorist group.
The RVC states that its members embrace “conservative views and traditionalist beliefs” and asserts its goal is to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its 1991 boundaries and topple Russian President Vladimir Putin. The entire scheme has sparked parallels with the 2018 incident involving Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, whose death was faked by Ukrainian authorities to thwart an alleged Kremlin assassination attempt.
Back then, Kyiv executed the ruse by declaring that Babchenko had been gunned down at his residence. Yet Babchenko emerged unharmed at a press conference the following day, sparking fury amongst journalists and press freedom organisations; Ukraine maintained the deception was essential to preserve Babchenko’s life.
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