Exiled Russian neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin – the leader of the Ukraine-based Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) paramilitary group – admitted that he wants to be a “Hollywood-style bad guy,” in an interview with Politico published on Wednesday.
The RDK has claimed responsibility for numerous cross-border attacks and incursions into Russian settlements, which have often resulted in the deaths of civilians. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by Moscow.
As noted by the outlet, despite being recognized by Germany as “one of the most influential neo-Nazi activists” on the European continent, Ukraine has “embraced” Kapustin’s “form of bad guy,” seeing him and his group as allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The paramilitary group has also received direct support from Ukraine’s military intelligence services (GUR) led by Kirill Budanov, who has described the neo-Nazi fighters as “good warriors” for their cross-border raids on Russian territory, and has vowed to “try and help them as much as we can.”
Kapustin himself has also stated that his group’s raids have been closely coordinated with the GUR, which has provided logistical assistance, vetted their operational plans, and provided them with weapons and resources. He told Politico that while his group is “an official part of the Ukrainian army,” it has “serious political ambitions and political agenda – to march to Moscow and dismantle the Putin regime.”
In the interview, he also said he finds it amusing that Western journalists are put in an awkward position when reporting on his group.
“It is a very funny position for you and your colleagues because you all have been trying hard to put us in a bad light for years. Neo-Nazis, racist, white supremacists, terrible guys, blah, blah, blah. And then the darkest hour in Ukraine’s modern day history arrives. And all of a sudden the eternal bad guys turn out to be brave, courageous, determined, stubborn and heroes. And they’re like, ‘damn, how should I write about them?’”
Despite laughing off the label ‘neo-Nazi’, Kapustin runs a line of far-right apparel that features Nazi symbols. He has also said that he relished the notoriety, admitting that he has always wanted to be a “Hollywood-style bad guy,” calling Darth Vader from the Star Wars franchise his “ultimate inspiration.”
While Kiev openly supports Kapustin’s RDK and other Russian defector militias, one unnamed official from Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has told Politico that Ukraine should distance itself from these groups, pointing out that the benefits of using them do not “outweigh the overall propaganda disadvantages.”