Denis “WhiteRex” Kapustin, also known as Denis Nikitin, the commander of the “Russian Volunteer Corps” (RVC), has been killed, according to a report on the Telegram channel of the group.
The RVC is a far-right white-nationalist paramilitary group made up of Russian citizens that has been fighting on the side of Ukraine in the war.
Denis Kapustin, founder and commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, was killed overnight on the Zaporizhzhia front. According to the unit, he died while carrying out a combat mission, preliminary reports point to an FPV drone strike. pic.twitter.com/zjuM7Wzi4L
— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) December 27, 2025
Kapustin died while carrying out a combat mission, and it was specified that he died after the arrival of an FPV drone.
"Tonight, our commander, Denis "WhiteRex" Kapustin, died heroically while carrying out a combat mission in the Zaporizhzhia sector of the front. According to preliminary data, it was an FPV drone," the RVC reported on their channel.
Details about the death are still being probed.
Denis Kapustin was 41 years old. He was a native of Moscow and moved to Germany with his family as a child, and grew up there. In 2022, he founded the Russian Volunteer Corps, which included “ethnic Russians” fighting against Russia. Ideologically, the RVC has been described as right-wing wing and Kapustin has been described as a neo-nazi.
The RVC is a military unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is also part of the International Legion of the Troops of Ukraine. RVC fighters participated in combat operations in the Avdiivka, Zaporizhzhia, and Limansk directions, as well as on Russian territory in border regions.
In March 2023, Kapustin was involved in a saboteur attack and infiltration in the Bryansk region in Ukraine. The group killed a resident and wounded two others, including a 10-year-old. Russian leader Vladimir Putin called the incident a terrorist attack. Kapustin was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for the attack. He was accused of treason and creating a terrorist organisation.
In January 2023, RVC fighters were part of a raid on the banks of the Novaya Kakhovka River, during which at least 12 Russian forces were killed, and one prisoner was captured. The attack provided the Ukrainian army with intelligence about Russian reserves and numbers.
