The Daily Populous Thursday January 1st, 2026 evening edition
Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by ElizabethLaugh

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) faked the death of Denis Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), and claimed the bounty placed on his head by Russia's intelligence service, HUR chief Kyrylo Budanov revealed on Jan. 1.

"Welcome back to life," Budanov said on a Telegram video, while congratulating Kapustin and the intelligence team involved in the operation.

The announcement follows reports published on Dec. 27 stating that Kapustin, also known by his nom de guerre "White Rex," had been killed during a combat mission in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In its Jan. 1 statement, HUR said those reports were part of a complex special operation that misled Russian intelligence services.

Russian intelligence services had ordered his assassination and allocated a bounty of $500,000 for the successful completion of the assassination.

"Our side also obtained the funds allocated by Russian intelligence services to carry out this crime," Budanov was told by the commander of the Timur special unit in the video.

"As of now, the RDK commander is on Ukrainian territory and is preparing to continue carrying out assigned tasks,."

Budanov welcomed Kapustin during the briefing.

"First of all, Mr. Denis, congratulations on your return to life. That is always a pleasure. I am glad that the money allocated for your assassination was used to support our struggle," Budanov said.

Kapustin said his temporary absence had not affected the unit's operations and confirmed his readiness to continue leading the Russian Volunteer Corps.

"My temporary absence did not affect the quality or success of combat missions. I am ready to move to the area of operations and continue commanding the RDK," he said.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, led by Kapustin, carried out cross-border incursions into Russia's Belgorod and Kursk oblasts in 2023 and 2024, operating alongside other anti-Kremlin Russian formations linked to Ukraine's defense and security forces, like the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion.

The public reveal marks the second known instance of pro-Ukrainian figures faking their own deaths to the detriment of Moscow.

In May 2018, Arkady Babchenko, a prominent Russian journalist known for his opposition to the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, faked his own death with the the assistance of Ukraine Security Service (SBU).

Babchenko was revealed to be alive during a news conference in Kyiv, following a coordinated operation to collect evidence on the staged assassination after indications emerged that Russian operatives were planning a real attempt on his life.

unclestickles on January 1st, 2026 at 15:14 UTC »

It's like Ukraine spaces out the genius moves to keep reminding the public that they are still giving it to Russia one dagger at a time.

Given the Kremlin's reputation in the spy game, I figured Ukraine would be bullied during this war. Turns out Ukraine is the sharp thinker, and makes me thing Ukraine was a majority player in the USSR's spy game.

pafrac on January 1st, 2026 at 14:34 UTC »

Brilliant. And with the bonus that it would have really pissed off Putin.

mintMultsides on January 1st, 2026 at 14:26 UTC »

Awesome 😎