Originally published on Southfront
At the end of 2021, even before the start of the Russian special military operation, Ukraine’s military and political leadership, at the behest of the British special service MI6, established an armed formation, the Russian Volunteer Corps, on the territory of Ukraine and NATO countries.
In August 2022, this initiative was transferred to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (HUR). The military unit had a clear ideological coloring, a bizarre mix of Nazism and neoliberalism (more precisely, extreme transhumanism), underpinned by venality. The priority task of the unit was to carry out sabotage and reconnaissance activities in Russia.
The core of the unit were citizens from former USSR countries (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc.), who fought as mercenaries for Kiev from 2014-2018.
Since August 2022, the unit has been recruiting Russian citizens who had left their homeland because of their dislike of the Putin government. The overwhelming majority were members of the LGBT community, who espoused the values of the Western New World Order, and/or the neoliberal ideology of the creative intelligentsia, the self-professed “new aristocracy” of Russia. Unemployed “creative” youth with criminal pasts were also recruited. These people were united by resentment of the loss of opportunities to lead their idle lifestyles.
Surprisingly, by the fall of 2022, out of 150 million people in Russia and 250 million people in the former Soviet Union, their numbers were insufficient to form a body of any appreciable size. The unit was opened up to mercenaries from NATO countries, or sympathizers, mainly from Poland, France, Canada, the USA, the Baltic States and Latin America, and the military personnel of the AFU. This last group comprised no less than 25% of the total, excluding Ukrainian citizens. The Corps was financed from the budget of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
By 2024, the number of servicemen with NATO or Latin American citizenship exceeded 40%. Less than 15% of the total had Russian citizenship, with the remaining 40-45% being Ukrainian citizens. By this period, the total number in the unit was about 372 people, with no more than 50 having Russian citizenship. Some of these likely had dual citizenship. LINK, LINK, LINK
As early as November 2022, the group of fighters, known as the RVC has been formally reassigned as a territorial defense unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and part of the International Legion. The unit continues to operate under the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine. Members of extremist and nationalist organizations, as well as disaffected Russian citizens, continue to be recruited to the RVC. As of the end of 2022, all of them received the status of AFU military personnel.
Since the second half of 2022, RVC militants have directly participated in combat operations against the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya directions. However, they did not achieve any significant successes.
The reasons are obvious. They are small in number and poorly trained. Rare forays to the line of combat contact were led by Ukrainian paramilitary right-wing radical units (Right Sector, Freikor, Kraken) and were primarily for media effect.
During this time, the RVC suffered its first significant losses. After participating in another action, the unit concentrated in the rear of the AFU, in the city of Zaporozhye, where their location was revealed by Russian military intelligence. As a result of Russian missile fire, up to 20 RVC militants were killed and dozens were wounded.
Nonetheless, UK, US and Ukraine intelligence services agreed that the unit met the objectives of anti-Kremlin propaganda and, more importantly, provided cover for their own terrorist activities in Russia. After all, in March 2024, the Russian presidential elections were to be held.
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On March 2, 2023, the RVC attacked the village of Lyubechane and the village of Sushany in the Bryansk region, killing a local resident, wounding an 11-year-old child and a Russian border guard officer. As a result of the operation, one armored combat vehicle was damaged, and residential houses and a civilian car were destroyed. LINK, LINK
The Russian army successfully drove the saboteurs back into Ukrainian territory. Moreover, in order to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, the Russians did not use heavy weapons on their territory. As soon as the militants were on the neighboring Kharkiv region of Ukraine, they were immediately came under massive artillery shelling.
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From May 22 to 23, 2023, AFU units consisting of NATO mercenaries, Ukrainian servicemen and members of the RDK with citizenship of former Soviet Union countries carried out an armed incursion into the territory of the Russian Federation in the Graivoron and Shebekinsky districts of Belgorod region. As a result of these actions, 2 servicemen of the RF Armed Forces were killed, 4 wounded and 1 captured. In addition, 13 local residents were wounded, and 1 was killed. The attackers managed to seize an APC-80A, destroy two Ural-4320 trucks and a 100-mm T-12 anti-tank gun. In addition, the buildings and structures of the Graivoron international highway checkpoint were damaged. Based on the results of the AFU raid, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed the destruction of about 50 people in total, including ethnic Ukrainians and NATO fighters, not counting the wounded. Four armored vehicles and three pickup trucks were destroyed. In turn, the RVC stated that the losses of the “corps” in this action amounted to 2 people killed and 10 wounded. LINK
From June 1 to June 5, 2023, the AFU, using the media brand “RVC” as a cover, carried out a repeated, even larger-scale raid in Belgorod region, during which they captured and briefly held control of the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka. During the action, the AFU struck residential and administrative buildings using drones, artillery and mortars. As a result of the fighting, more than 10 servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces were killed, including the commander of the 1009 motorized rifle regiment, Colonel V. Kuznetsov. In its turn, the Russian Defense Ministry released information that “during the fighting on Russian territory 70 RVC militants were destroyed”. Probably, this announcement should be interpreted as implying that 70 servicemen of the AFU’s International Legion, including the RVC, as well as other attached units of the AFU, were killed (the bodies of many of those killed are in the possession of the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation). The rest were forced out of Russian territory. LINK, LINK, LINK
Foreign mercenaries or seconded NATO military specialists who are members of the RVC or other units of the International Legion of the AFU took an active part in this action. The participation of US and Polish citizens was confirmed. Later, on June 9, the Russian authorities announced the detention in Moscow of RVC supporters with Ukrainian and Russian citizenship who had been planning terrorist acts in Moscow.
On January 17, 2024, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian troops hit a temporary mercenary deployment site in Kharkiv with precision weapons. According to the ministry, more than 60 mercenaries, mostly from France, were killed, while another 20 were wounded and taken to medical facilities. About 10 of them supervised and directly participated in the activities of the RVC, including their sabotage actions. LINK
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By the spring of 2024, despite all the efforts and substantial financial outlays, the RVC as an independent concept and brand was essentially a failure. From the end of 2021 to the spring of 2024, British and American intelligence agencies sent more than 110 million dollars to Ukraine to finance the unit. The result was disappointing, both in military and media terms.
However, the presidential election in Russia was approaching and it was vital to do something to account to creditors. The beneficiaries found an elegant way; they simply renamed some RVC members and NATO mercenaries, as the “Freedom of Russia” Legion, and the “Siberian Battalion”.
On March 12, 2024, the RVC, the Freedom of Russia Legion, and the Siberian Battalion tried to breach the Russian state border in the Belgorod region. The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation managed to prevent the enemy from penetrating deep into Russian territory. LINK, LINK
Russian war correspondent Evgeny Poddubny, who was on the scene at the time, reported that the AFU lost 5 tanks, 3 SAU, 1 MLRS, several pickup trucks and BMPs, as well as up to 70 people killed and wounded. There are numerous video testimonies. The Russian military managed to capture 1 participant of the RVC.
Thus, this action was also a painful failure, both as propaganda and as military escapade. LINK, LINK, LINK
This was extremely galling for the Ukrainian security services. The entire project had aimed to embarrass the Kremlin, inspire alienated Russian citizens, and demonstrate the vulnerability of the Russian government. The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (HUR), together with MI6, had taken particular care to choose the right candidates for the exercise.
The security services had chosen “Denis Nikitin”, or Kapustin Denis Evgenievich, born 6th March, 1984. He had emigrated from Moscow to Cologne, Germany with his mother in 2001. According to Der Spiegel, the transfer of the Kapustin family had been facilitated because of their Jewish origin, but having Jewish roots had not prevented Kapustin from becoming a far-right soccer hooligan, popular with European and Russian nationalists. The Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia even called him “one of the most influential neo-Nazi activists” in Germany.
Kapustin’s ideology is the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon-Jewish elites over the rest of the world, rather than the superiority of any individual nation or race. This is why MI6 chose him to be the formal leader of the RVC. Whatever the merits of his stance, Denis Kapustin is undeniably an extraordinary personality with strong leadership qualities.
In 2008, Kapustin founded the clothing brand White Rex. The logo was based on the “black sun” – the symbol used in Nazi Germany instead of the swastika. Kapustin sold the first batch of his brand’s clothes at the “Warrior Spirit” rules-free fighting tournament he organized in Voronezh, Russia. The entrepreneur claimed that White Rex “is not just a clothing brand, but an association of people with common views”.
Since 2012, Kapustin has been actively developing ties with right-wing organizations across Europe, promoting his brand. Five years later, in 2017, he moved to Ukraine, where he established stable contacts with representatives of the nationalist battalion Azov, about whose activities he spoke enthusiastically during his foreign trips.
In 2019, Kapustin attempted to bring the White Rex brand to the American market, using his connections with Robert Rundo, the organizer of the “Right March” rally in the city of Charlottesville in the United States and the founder of the neo-Nazi organization from California “Rise Above Movement”. However, there were problems with this project due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
A lot is known about Denis Kapustin’s current activities as the formal head of RVC, as well as about his inner circle and supervisors from the HUR.
Today, Kapustin is mostly in Ukraine, but occasionally travels to NATO countries, where he is in contact with representatives of the U.S. and British intelligence services, as well as with representatives of the Russian opposition. Kapustin uses phone numbers: +380997860984, +79055691579, +31647245221, e-mail addresses: whiterex.wear@gmail.com, kapustin_denis@bk.ru, germanguest@mail.ru. In social networks he has accounts: “@DenisWR” (id1636328455) in Telegram messenger, “White Rex” (id71642938) – VKontakte.
The activity of RVC and directly D. Kapustin from the Ukrainian security services is coordinated by a citizen of Ukraine known as Bulakh Andrey Alekseevich, born 24th July,1986, who is probably an employee of the HUR, as he is currently registered at the address: 81 Melnikova St., Kiev, 81 (v/h А2659, military intelligence unit of Ukraine), and previously was registered at the address: 33 Elektrikov St., Kiev (headquarters of the HUR). For communication A. Bulakh uses the following subscriber numbers: +380631686658, +380969174471, +380684036022, +380665717770, +380523321228, e-mail addresses: bs.group.incorp@gmail.com, bs.group@ukr.net, djuk2986@rambler.ru.
Coordination of the activities of RVC members is carried out by the special services of Ukraine through representatives of Ukrainian nationalist structures under their control, in particular:
- Roman Vasilievich Stoyko, born 18th August, 1983, citizen of Ukraine, member of the subversive-intelligence unit of the Volunteer Ukrainian Corps “Right Sector”, registered at the address: Zakarpattya region, Uzhgorod, 8 March street, 20, apartment 4, who for communication uses subscriber numbers: +380999078477, +380992842605, as well as e-mail addresses: roman0207@ukr.net, 2015commendant@gmail.com.
- Bogdanov Dmytro Ivanovych, born on 19th June, 1988, citizen of Ukraine, member of the volunteer reconnaissance battalion “Solnyshko” of the DUK “PS”, registered at the address: Kiev, 92 Krasnoarmeyskaya St., Q.57, who for communication uses the subscriber number: +380507770550, e-mail addresses: dmytrobogdan@gmail.com, playboy747@bigmir.net.
As mentioned above, the RVC was composed, among others, of representatives of the neoliberal movement in Russia who disagreed with Kremlin policies, and subsequently left Russia. One of the active members of the unit is Kirill Kanakhin, who participated in the attack on the village of Lyubechane in the Belgorod region on March 2, 2023. In the past, he has styled himself as variously a “poet,” yoga teacher, and actor with the Academic Maly Theater of Russia. He has starred in films with Ksenia Sobchak, also a representative of Russia’s neoliberal movement.
In 2012, Kanakhin left the stage and began teaching yoga. In the course of his “spiritual” training, he visited India, changed his appearance, and covered most of his body with tattoos. As a result, he was no longer offered roles in the theater, where he was still working at that time. According to the testimonies of his former colleagues, Kanakhin blamed his creative failures on the high level of corruption among artists, as well as the blacklisting of artists who have fallen foul of the Russian state. Kanakhin eventually developed his own philosophy of life, a complex system of views and moral values, including racist and far-right views, and paganism. As an opponent of Crimea’s annexation to Russia, Kanakhin participated in protests in Moscow. In March 2015, during the march in memory of Boris Nemtsov, Kanakhin was arrested and received 8 days of arrest. In 2018, after a criminal case was opened against him on charges of participating in illegal protests, Kanakhin fled Russia and moved to Ukraine, where he joined the Azov battalion, later in the RVC.
Kirill Kanakhin, born on 09.04.1982, uses the following phone numbers for communication: +380663011129, +79609301760, +79660192685, +79037687059, +79637527549; e-mail addresses: radonskiyyoga@gmail.com, radonskiy@yandex.ru, resides at the address: Kiev, 20, Maksim Berlinsky St., apartment 74, previously resided at the address: Moscow, Boytsovaya St., 4/37, apartment 23. Kirill is currently a client of the Russian Alfa-Bank (bank card numbers 4261132560975275, 5486742051987955), is the author of the neo-Nazi telegram channel “Solar Cross +” (t.me/solarcrosspoetry), and uses the messenger Telegram with the username @KitBayn. Kirill was an active customer of the Sportmaster store even before 2023.
This review provides examples and data from individual members of the RVC. In general, the RVC consists of a very motley and diverse group, united primarily by envy, anger, resentment and absurdly inflated egos, all qualities ripe for successful exploitation by their GUR and MI6 handlers.
The RDK project can rightly be considered a failure. RVC activities over two years have not brought any significant results, either on the battlefield or in the media. Not only have they failed to ignite protests in Russia, but they have instigated a major change in the stance of those Russian citizens, who would previously have been classed as anti-Putin. Members of the RVC are now perceived as traitors and degenerates.
Even the ultra-right part of the Russian population refused to support Denis Kapustin. On the contrary, they began to join Russian volunteer units more actively, a good example being the Española volunteer unit.
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