He doesn’t get along with neo-Nazis

Navalny strategist Leonid Volkov under fire in Lithuania for disparaging paramilitary leader ‘White Rex’ and top Ukrainian officials

Lithuania’s Migration Department is investigating Leonid Volkov, head of political projects at the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The move follows comments Volkov made about the reported “death” of neo-Nazi paramilitary leader Denis Kapustin. Also known as Denis Nikitin and “White Rex,” Kapustin fights alongside Ukraine in the Russian Volunteer Corps. The outlet Delfi was the first to report the development, citing Migration Department chief adviser Rokas Pukinskas. According to Pukinskas, the department has requested that Lithuania’s State Security Department determine whether Volkov’s statements pose a national security threat. The outcome of that review could jeopardize Volkov’s residence permit in Lithuania.

The controversial remarks were made public by Anna Tiron, a former Anti-Corruption Foundation staffer who now represents Kapustin’s Russian Volunteer Corps. On January 5, she posted a screenshot of a text message from Volkov. In the image, Volkov endorsed Kapustin’s killing — later revealed to have been faked by the Ukrainian military — and he criticized several top Ukrainian officials:

Writing to you as a former (thank God) colleague, just for some balance:

Finally, some real denazification. That Nazi scumbag is gone — he was basically a walking talking point for the Kremlin anyway. He and his circus act of a “corps” were just doing the dirty work for that vile, low-rent strategist Budanov. Honestly, I hope Kapustin’s pals are next. I want to see [former presidential chief of staff Andriy] Yermak, [presidential adviser Mykhailo] Podolyak, and [then Military Intelligence Director Kyrylo] Budanov behind bars along with the rest of those two-faced, propagandist crooks. Ukraine might actually stand a chance of winning then, but as long as they’re counting on guys like Kapustin, they’re going nowhere.

Go ahead and post that on your shitty “insider” channel.

After the message appeared on Facebook, Volkov didn’t deny its authenticity. In a response shared on Telegram, he maintained his stance against neo-Nazis while expressing regret for his “heated” tone toward Tiron:

[The message], of course, was heated and blunt. Alas, that’s how private correspondence often goes. It was meant for an ex-employee who spends all her time spreading lies and garbage about me and the Anti-Corruption Foundation… I shouldn’t have sent it, and I definitely should’ve kept my cool. Bottom line: I don’t get along with neo-Nazis. […] Even a tactical alliance with them seems like a big mistake to me.

The backlash to Volkov’s comments has spilled offline to his adopted home in exile, Lithuania, where Seimas member and Homeland Union party leader Laurynas Kasciunas compared him to Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev. Volkov insulted “the defenders of Ukraine and the fighters for its freedom,” Kasciunas argued on social media, complaining that Lithuania “shelters” and provides “political cover” to “characters of questionable reputation.”

You’re currently reading Meduza, the world’s largest independent Russian news outlet. Every day, we bring you essential coverage from Russia and beyond. Explore our reporting here and follow us wherever you get your news.

Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, noted that Lithuania has worked hard to ensure Volkov’s safety since a 2024 assault in Vilnius. Motuzas expressed surprise that someone who has “personally endured so much repression from Russia” would speak with such hostility about Ukrainian officials. “Of course, we see his explanation that this was private [correspondence], but still, I think this doesn’t change the situation,” he added.

Budanov, another target of Volkov’s ire, is among the most popular government figures in Ukraine. As head of the nation’s military intelligence after 2020, he coordinated several successful sabotage operations inside Russian territory. Budanov’s new role as presidential chief of staff, announced January 2, places him at the heart of the Zelensky administration.

Denis and his Corps

On December 27, the Russian Volunteer Corps reported that its founder, Denis Kapustin, had been killed at the front in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region in a drone strike. On January 1, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate announced that Kapustin’s death had been faked. Russian security services had ordered his killing and allocated $500,000 for the operation, according to Kyiv. Ukrainian intelligence claimed that its operation saved Kapustin’s life and allowed investigators to identify those behind the plot.

The Russian Volunteer Corps claims to be part of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, but officials in Kyiv have neither confirmed nor denied this connection. According to multiple media and watchdog reports, the group’s leaders espouse far-right and neo-Nazi views. Kapustin, also known as Denis Nikitin and “White Rex,” has been identified as a neo-Nazi by the Anti-Defamation League. The Corps and other formations of Russian nationals fighting alongside Ukraine have repeatedly said they carried out raids into Russia’s border regions.

In 2008, Nikitin sought to commercialize his appeal by launching the fashion brand “White Rex.” The label marketed clothing with thinly veiled Nazi symbols, including t-shirts reading “SS for Sweet n’ Sexy” and apparel featuring the Black Sun and the so-called Fourteen Words. Nikitin has endorsed white supremacist precepts and frequently uses dehumanizing language, such as comparing non-white people to apes. In 2016, he helped instigate mass brawls between Russian and English soccer fans during the European Football Championship in Marseille, France.

In 2019, German officials banned Nikitin from entering the E.U. for 10 years on the grounds that his neo-Nazi activism constitutes a public safety threat. Journalists at Der Spiegel later wrote that the Ukrainian authorities once detained Nikitin on suspicion of drug trafficking, though the report remains unconfirmed; Ukrainian journalists note that his case file is classified.

On January 6, Kapustin publicly responded to Volkov on X, accusing him of behaving like a Kremlin intelligence asset:

Leonid is busy tearing the opposition apart from the inside, sabotaging potential alliances before they even start, and driving a wedge between the [Anti-Corruption Foundation] and everyone else. He’s spreading garbage and rumors, dragging down a Russian opposition that’s a mess even without him. Honestly, he’s doing such a good job trashing the anti-Putin movement that he’s basically the poster child for a planted “agent of influence.”