It is quite possible that opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin hold press conferences. Because of the repression, they do so in exile. They often talk about a Russia of the future, and are hardly noticed because of the current balance of power. But when Putin's opponents stood in front of cameras, they were sure to attract attention. They, too, appeared in exile, in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy. They stood in the open air, in uniforms, with assault rifles and an armored vehicle, which they said they had captured during the invasion of the adjacent western Russian Belgorod region earlier this week. In addition, they had the self-confidence of young, armed men in groups. And this despite the fact that, or perhaps because, little is known about its two formations, the "Russian Volunteer Corps" and the "Legion of Freedom of Russia". For example, how many fighters they actually provide.

Friedrich Schmidt

Political correspondent for Russia and the CIS.

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This war will end "in Moscow," one of Putin's opponents told a Western reporter in good English, "in Moscow, my hometown." The brawny man in his late 30s, dressed all in black, is the Russian right-wing extremist Denis Kapustin, who prefers the surname Nikitin and also calls himself "White Rex". This is a clothing brand that Kapustin founded in 2008, in Germany. He came there in 2001 at the age of 17 as a Jewish quota refugee.

Kapustin grew up in Cologne, speaks fluently German, became a leading figure in the right-wing extremist hooligan and martial arts scene. Der Spiegel reported that Germany expelled the Russian in 2019 and imposed a ten-year ban on entry into the Schengen area. Kapustin was drawn to Ukraine. According to his own statements, he was on the Kiev Maidan in 2014 during the revolution and is said to have founded the "Russian Volunteer Corps" last summer, of which he is the commander.

For the "liberation" of Russia

Some consider the "Corps", as well as the "Legion of Freedom of Russia", to be part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. It also includes other foreigners fighting on the side of Ukraine, such as Chechens, Georgians and Belarusians. But while Kapustin's "volunteer corps" was present in several theaters of war in the south and east of Ukraine according to media research and boasted of incursions into the western Russian Bryansk region as early as March and April, some observers still doubt that the "Legion" even exists beyond social media. In mid-May, Kapustin's "corps" announced on Telegram that it had decided to go into battle together with the "Legion". Although they have different views on the future construction of Russia, they have a common goal, "victory in this war and the future liberation of Russia!"

In one photo, Kapustin, already black, poses together with a man in camouflage: Maximilian Andronnikov, who appears as "Caesar" and was also present at the press conference in the Sumy region. The photo, as pointed out by the BBC's Russian service, was taken near the headquarters of the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR. He reiterated on Thursday that Russian citizens had carried out the Belgorod operation "independently, according to their own goals". Kiev is obviously concerned with allaying concerns in the ranks of Western supporters about further escalation.