‘I congratulate you on returning to life’ says spy chief Budanov to Denis Kapustin, commander of a Russian unit fighting on the Ukrainian side. What we know on day 1,409
Ukraine staged the death of a high-ranked Russian fighting on Kyiv’s side to prevent him being killed on Moscow’s orders and lure out those involved in the plot, Ukrainian military intelligence announced on Thursday. The GUR military intelligence unit said the ruse even netted the $500,000 Russian reward for the “killing” of Denis Kapustin – also known as Denis Nikitin – leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps and “Timur Special Unit”, which had announced on Saturday that Kapustin was killed on the frontline.
On Thursday, Kapustin appeared via video link at a briefing with the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. His assassination, the GUR and Timur unit said, “was ordered by the special services of the aggressor state Russia, which allocated half a million dollars to carry out the crime … As a result of a comprehensive special operation [his life] was preserved, and the circle of individuals was identified: the masterminds within the Russian special services and the perpetrators.”
The Timur unit announced: “Our side also received a corresponding amount of funds allocated by Russian intelligence agencies for the implementation of this crime.” Budanov said in a video posted online, showing himself and Kapustin: “First of all, Mr Denis, I congratulate you on returning to life. This is always a pleasure. I’m glad that the funds received from ordering your liquidation went to help our fight.” Kapustin, according to the AFP news agency, has a controversial past linked to the far right and football hooliganism, and some of his fighters have voiced neo-Nazi views.
