Former neo-Nazi slain in Zaporizhzhia; Russian Volunteer Corps vows revenge
By An Jun-hyen – Published 2025.12.27 – Updated 2025.12.29
Former neo-Nazi slain in Zaporizhzhia; Russian Volunteer Corps vows revenge
The commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), who has been fighting alongside Ukraine against Russian forces, died on the battlefield. Russian media outlets, including RIA Novosti, reported on the 27th, local time, citing Ukrainian media and the RVC Telegram channel, that Denis Kapustin, 41 years old, the founder and commander of the group, died on the front lines in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The cause of death was a strike by a kamikaze drone. The RVC officially confirmed in a Telegram statement on the same day that “Commander Kapustin died in combat after being attacked by a first-person view (FPV) drone operated by Russian forces.” FPV drones, which pilots control through goggles from the drone’s perspective and directly collide with targets, are a representative asymmetric force that has changed the nature of the war in Ukraine. The RVC added upon announcing Kapustin’s death, “We will certainly take revenge, and your legacy will continue.”
Before donning a military uniform, he was an individual who operated under the pseudonym ‘White Rex’ in Europe’s far-right circles. Kapustin, born in Moscow in 1984, moved to Germany in 2001 with his family under the status of Jewish refugees. However, there he became engrossed in the neo-Nazi (new Nazi) skinhead culture and even operated a white supremacist clothing brand. After being banned from entering by German authorities, he moved to Ukraine, defining himself as a ‘right-wing conservative’ and continuing his activities. However, he denied allegations of being a Nazi follower, stating, “I do not agree with Hitler’s ideology.”
Opposing Russia’s multiculturalization due to the invasion of Ukraine and aiming to ‘overthrow the Putin regime,’ he organized the RVC in August 2022 and began an armed struggle. The group, which displays the slogan “Only our victory brings peace to Russia” on its website, led surprise invasions into the Russian mainland regions of Bryansk and Belgorod across the Ukrainian border in 2023 and 2024. They have conducted regular warfare against Russian forces in major battlegrounds such as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, supported by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry-affiliated intelligence agency (GUR).
Russian authorities have pursued punishment by designating him as an enemy of the state and a first-class terrorist. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) investigated charges that Kapustin, as a Russian citizen, participated in military operations on the side of the Ukrainian forces and attempted to bomb Russian energy facilities. Accordingly, a Russian court had recently sentenced Kapustin to life imprisonment through an in absentia trial, applying charges including treason and terrorism.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 