Not so fast, according to the enigmatic head of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence agency: Nikitin, who also uses the name Kapustin or White Rex, is in fact alive. And the $500,000 bounty that Russia put out on his head was purportedly collected by Ukrainians themselves.<\/p>\n
The plot involving Nikitin is a small window into some of the psychological warfare, and feint-and-ruse ploys known widely as maskirovka, that Ukrainian forces — not to mention Russian forces — have used over the course of Moscow\u2019s nearly four-year-old all-out war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Prior to the onset of the invasion, Nikitin, a former mixed martial arts fighter, was not widely known outside of neo-Nazi groups and \u201cultra\u201d soccer hooligans in Russia and elsewhere. He launched a clothing-and-apparel line known as White Rex, a nod to his white nationalist ideology.<\/p>\n
His activities in right-wing subculture in Germany drew the attention of law enforcement in North Rhine-Westphalia state, <\/strong>which called him<\/strong> <\/a>“one of the most influential neo-Nazi activists and the creator of a professional fighting subculture.”<\/p>\n About a year after the launch of the Kremlin’s February 2022 invasion, a militia group made up mainly of Russians<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>began conducting raids from Ukraine into Russia.<\/p>\n At the time, Russia\u2019s invasion had faltered, and Ukrainian officials were looking to further rewrite the narrative of the war, to both bolster domestic morale but also to show Western backers Kyiv\u2019s capacity for innovative and daring thinking.<\/p>\n In May 2023, fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps staged the first of a series of raids into Russia\u2019s Belgorod region. Russia said it had repelled the attack, and it released photographs of US military vehicles — including Humvees — that it said were destroyed.<\/p>\n Though Ukraine officials denied involvement, the presence of US-supplied military vehicles by a murky paramilitary prompted concern from the US administration, which at the time was still cautioning restraint from Ukraine.<\/p>\n Other similar militias include the Free Russia Legion.<\/p>\n As Ukraine built up its confidence, and capacity, it sent its own regular forces on cross-border raids early last year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Photo Gallery: \nPhotos show damage allegedly caused by Ukrainian-based Russian militants after a suspected armed incursion into Russia’s Belgorod region.\n<\/p>\n Russia, meanwhile, designated the Volunteer Corps to be a terrorist organization, and tried Nikitin in absentia, sentencing him to life in prison. It also put out a $500,000 reward for information leading to his capture.<\/p>\n On December 27, the Russian Volunteer Corps announced Nikitin had been killed by a Russian drone somewhere in Ukraine\u2019s Zaporizhzhya region. Inside Ukraine, Nikitin was mourned by some as a martyr and a hero. Inside Russia, some bloggers crowed about his death.<\/p>\n Five days later, however, the head of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence agency, known as the HUR, released a video <\/strong><\/a>in which he declared the reports of Nikitin\u2019s death a ruse. The ploy, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov said, was aimed at identifying Russians who were seeking to assassinate Nikitin.<\/p>\n Budanov, who separately was appointed to the powerful position \u200dof presidential chief of staff by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also claimed that the reward money posted by Russia had been obtained, apparently by Ukrainian sources.<\/p>\n \u201cI congratulate you on your return to life. It is always pleasant,\u201d Budanov said in the video. \u201cI am glad that the funds received for ordering your liquidation went to help our struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n Nikitin appeared in Budanov\u2019s video as well, though it was impossible verify when and where it was filmed.<\/p>\n![\"Humvees,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01000000-0a00-0242-4f25-08db5c2bf98a_w250_r1_s.jpg\")
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\nHumvees, Wreckage After ‘Cross-Border Raid’ Into Russia<\/p>\n