HUR conducted a special operation: Russia paid $500 thousand for the staged death of the RDK commander.

According to ТСН: The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine conducted a complex special operation during which Russian special services believed in the staging of the murder of the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, Denis Kapustin (callsign White Rex), and paid about $500 thousand for it.

At the end of December, information emerged about the alleged death of Kapustin in the Zaporizhzhia direction during a combat mission. This report was accompanied by a video showing a burning minibus that, according to the legend, was hit by an FPV drone. Another drone, it was claimed, recorded the 'consequences of the strike'.

The information about the death of the RDK commander was publicly confirmed by the chief of staff of the corps, Alexander “Fortuna”, which finally convinced the Russian side of the success of the liquidation.

However, on January 1, the HUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine revealed the details of the operation: Denis Kapustin is alive, and the 'murder' turned out to be a carefully planned disinformation campaign. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the clients believed the legend and fully paid for the 'work done'.

Former SBU employee Ivan Stupak noted that the standard price for Russian special services for eliminating Ukrainian military personnel or intelligence officers ranges from 7 to 50 thousand dollars, and in this case, it was significantly more due to the target's special status.

Head of the HUR Kyrylo Budanov publicly congratulated Denis Kapustin on his “return to life”, emphasizing that the funds intended for his liquidation ultimately went to meet the needs of the fight against Russia.

Denis Kapustin is 41 years old. He is a citizen of the Russian Federation, born in Moscow, also known by the surname Nikitin. In the past, he was a sports entrepreneur and organizer of MMA tournaments. Since 2017, he has been living in Ukraine, and after the onset of full-scale war, he created and headed the Russian Volunteer Corps, which now operates as part of the units of the HUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

In Russia, Kapustin was tried in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment and recognized as a terrorist. He has repeatedly stated that he considers Putin's regime his personal enemy and fights for the destruction of modern Putin's Russia.

The HUR called this operation a “powerful blow to the FSB” and a symbolic beginning for the year 2026 in favor of Ukrainian intelligence.

This special operation demonstrates the effectiveness of Ukrainian special services in countering Russian information influence and highlights the importance of disinformation in modern military conflict. Considering the events surrounding Kapustin, it becomes clear how critical the role of information operations is in a war that has been ongoing for over a year.