On December 27, news spread around the world that while performing a combat mission on the Zaporizhzhia front, the following person had fallen: Denis Kapustin | Nikitin, commander and founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps – a unit of Russian volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine since August 2022. This report was part of an incredible operation by the Ukrainian secret services.
On December 27, the Russian Volunteer Corps published a message on its Telegram channel stating that its commander Denis Kapustin – also known as Denis Nikitin – had died at the front in the Zaporizhzhia region during a drone attack.
A video was also released by the command of the Russian Volunteer Corps, in which Aleksandr FORTUNA warns against fraudulent fundraisers that emerged following the news of the commander’s death – and invites those who are not indifferent to join the Corps’ activities.
The entire event was a coordinated action by the Ukrainian secret services.
Operation HUR
To save the life of the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, Denis Kapustin, who operates within the Timur Special Unit of the HUR MO of Ukraine, and to uncover an enemy network of agents, military intelligence officers conducted a complex multi-stage operation. It lasted more than a month, during which Ukrainian intelligence staged Kapustin’s death.
To support the legend, video footage from two drones was created: the first drone flew into the minibus where Kapustin was supposed to be located, and the second filmed the “aftermath of the strike” – a burning vehicle.
The perpetrators of the crime from the Russian secret services believed the provided video and paid the Ukrainian intelligence a reward for the completed “contract” – half a million dollars. These funds will significantly strengthen the combat capabilities of the HUR special units.
The command of Ukrainian intelligence reported all these facts on January 1, 2026, in a video where the commander of the TIMUR special unit, intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, and Denis Kapustin himself, alive and well, spoke briefly.
He is now heading back to his unit, while Kyrylo Budanov is set to take the position of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The fight continues!
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