Ukraine's HUR faked death of top anti-Putin Russian commander, claimed Kremlin bounty money

"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.
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." 

KI