Information
Ukrainian military intelligence executed a carefully planned deception operation by faking the death of Denis Kapustin, one of the most high-profile anti-Putin Russian fighters aligned with Ukraine. Kapustin, known by his nom de guerre “White Rex,” was reported killed on December 27 in a supposed Ukrainian drone strike on the southern front. The claim was reinforced when his own group, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), publicly announced his death on Telegram, issuing a statement vowing revenge and declaring that his “legacy lives on.” Given Kapustin’s prominence and Moscow’s long-standing pursuit of him, the report was readily believed by Russian intelligence agencies.
For years, Russian security services placed a $500,000 bounty on Kapustin due to his role in cross-border raids. After news of his alleged assassination spread, they paid out the bounty, unaware the operation was fabricated. On New Year’s Day, Kapustin reappeared in a video with Ukraine’s military intelligence head, Kyrylo Budanov, who congratulated him on his “return to life.” Budanov confirmed that the funds intended for Kapustin’s killing were redirected to support Ukraine’s war effort, turning a Russian assassination contract into a blow against Moscow.
Source: Kyiv Independent, Telegraph, Daily Mail
So What
While Denis Kapustin’s survival preserves continuity and effectiveness for the units he leads, the greater impact of the episode lies at the strategic level, where it delivers a clear embarrassment to the Kremlin and Russia’s intelligence services. Although Moscow is likely to publicly downplay the incident, it will almost certainly resonate within pro-Russian military blogger circles, potentially undermining confidence and bleeding into broader supporter morale. More broadly, the deception underscores Russia’s continuing difficulties in intelligence collection against Ukraine, exposing weaknesses across both human intelligence (HUMINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) efforts.
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