In a stunning intelligence operation, Ukraine has faked the assassination of a Russian paramilitary leader described as Vladimir Putin's 'personal enemy', successfully claiming a $500,000 bounty from the Kremlin to fund its war effort.
The Elaborate Deception
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) confirmed on January 1, 2026, that reports of the death of Denis Kapustin were part of an elaborate ruse. Kapustin, who also uses the pseudonym 'White Rex', is the leader of the right-wing Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), a group fighting for the overthrow of the Russian president.
Last week, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had confirmed that Kapustin was killed by an FPV drone strike in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. The RVC itself posted a tribute on Telegram, stating: 'We will definitely avenge you, Denis. Your legacy lives on,' and promised further details.
However, in a video released on the GUR's Telegram channel, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov welcomed a very much alive Kapustin back with the words 'Welcome back.' Budanov revealed the operation took over a month to execute and was designed to save Kapustin's life while securing the bounty money.
A Major Blow to Russian Intelligence
Budanov framed the successful sting as a significant failure for Russia's secret services. '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 stated.
This represents a major propaganda and operational embarrassment for the Kremlin, which had publicly allocated the bounty and was relying on the paramilitary leader's death. Kapustin is viewed by Moscow as a significant threat due to his group's aim of toppling Putin's regime.
In the video, Kapustin downplayed his brief disappearance, saying his 'temporary absence had no impact on the work of the units.'
Who is Denis 'White Rex' Kapustin?
The background of the RVC leader is complex and controversial. A former football hooligan and neo-Nazi activist from Moscow, he spent much of his youth in Germany before moving to Kyiv in 2017.
Since 2019, he had been banned from entering Europe’s Schengen area due to his involvement in far-right movements within the mixed martial arts scene. Following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Kapustin founded the RVC to fight alongside the Ukrainian army.
The group, which is banned in Russia as a terrorist organisation, states its fighters hold 'conservative views and traditionalist beliefs'. Its stated mission is the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity within its 1991 borders and the overthrow of the Russian president.
The audacious operation underscores the increasingly sophisticated and unconventional methods being employed in the intelligence war between Kyiv and Moscow, turning a Kremlin bounty into direct funding for Ukrainian special forces.
