Another case was opened against the life-sentenced fighters of the RDK
The military court received a case against five members of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), fighting on the side of Ukraine. “Kommersant” learned about it.
The case is being investigated by RDK commander Denisa Kapustin (Nikityn), actor Kirill Kanakhin, Alexander Galanov, Aleksey Ogurtsov and Anton Zyryanov. All of them will be tried in absentia, as they are in Ukraine. The trial will be held behind closed doors due to the confidentiality of the case file.
RDC fighters are accused – depending on the degree of participation, which “Kommersant” does not specify – of terrorism and its propaganda, assault on the life of a law enforcement officer, robbery, illegal trafficking of weapons, ammunition and explosives, smuggling of poisonous substances and illegal border crossing. In addition, they are all charged with articles of participation in an illegal armed formation and a terrorist community, which the Russian authorities consider the RDC.
Earlier, Kapustina and Kanakhina were already sentenced to life imprisonment in Russia on the charge of treason.
Kapustin was sentenced in November 2023. The court found him guilty of treason, attempted terrorist attack, teaching terrorist activities, creating a terrorist community, and acquiring explosives. Kapustin was accused of going over to the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and organizing an attack on the Bryansk and Belgorod regions in the spring of 2023.
Kanakhina was sentenced in February 2024. According to the investigation, the former actor, who previously starred in TV series and worked at Moscow’s “Moscow Theater of the Moon”, joined the RDC, fought “on the Kherson direction” and took part in raids in Russian border regions.
- The Russian Volunteer Corps is an armed formation that fights on the side of Ukraine, but is said to consist exclusively of Russian citizens. According to the statements of the RDC fighters, their goal is to “liberate their land from Putin’s regime.” In Russia, the RDK is recognized as a terrorist organization.
