The Lithuanian Department of Migration has asked the country’s security services to review the public statements of Russian political émigré Leonid Volkov, one of the leaders of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), in which he called the death of RDK head Denis Kapustin a “denazification,” which later turned out to be staged.

According to Lithuanian Public Radio and Television (LRT), a temporary residence permit can be revoked if officials perceive a threat to national security, public order, or the health of citizens. “On Tuesday, the Department of Migration turned to the Department of State Security for additional consultation on a possible threat to national security and asked to assess the foreigner’s statements that appeared in public space”, the LRT reported.

RDK on December 27 reported the death of its commander Denis Kapustin. This report proved to be false: on January 1 the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced that it staged Kapustin’s murder to prevent his elimination by the “enemy side.”

Former FBK employee Hanna Tyron, who represents the political wing of the RDK, on January 5 published a screenshot of Volkov’s message dated December 27, in which he commented on Kapustin’s death.

“Finally, there really has been denazification. A Nazi, whose very existence was a gift to Kremlin propaganda. He, with his ‘clownish’ corps, carried out murky tasks for the despicable rural political technologist (at that time the head of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense, Kirill Budanov)”

– Leonid Volkov

Volkov also expressed the hope that “after Kapustin, his cronies will follow,” and that the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, his former adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, and the new head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov “will sit,” as well as “all other propagandist hypocritical thieves.”

RDK subsequently stated that it does not support conflicts among anti-Kremlin forces that stand with Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion. The movement noted that it expressed condolences in connection with the death of Alexei Navalny in February 2024. “The statements and narratives of Volkov directly reflect Putin’s rhetoric, harm the opposition as a whole, and also cast doubt on whose interests he serves. We consider it necessary to warn opposition representatives, Ukrainian and European politicians about such ambiguous actions”, the RDK publication said.

In response to Hanna Tyron’s publication, Volkov stated that he made his remark in an informal correspondence (although in his note to Tyron he noted “this is how you should write in your g.vnokanal with insider information”). He emphasized that, together with colleagues, he is fighting against Vladimir Putin’s regime and its aggression toward Ukraine: “And yes, I have a bad opinion of neo-Nazis. If this comes as a surprise to someone, sorry. Even a tactical alliance with them seems to me a great mistake.”

In the context of earlier remarks, note that in 2019 Germany revoked Denis Kapustin’s residence permit, finding that he posed a threat to the foundations of a free democratic order and belonged to European far-right extremist circles.

Following Volkov’s public statements, Kapustin described one of FBK’s leaders as “an agent of influence of the Kremlin’s security services,” noting that “instead of fighting the regime, Leonid has consistently weakened the opposition, undermined any (even potential) alliances, and driven a wedge between FBK and the rest of the opposition forces.”