{"id":2528747,"date":"2026-01-02T20:30:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T01:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ukraine-says-it-faked-assassination-of-putin-opponent\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T20:31:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T01:31:57","slug":"ukraine-says-it-faked-assassination-of-putin-opponent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ukraine-says-it-faked-assassination-of-putin-opponent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine says it faked assassination of Putin opponent"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fukraine-says-it-faked-assassination-of-putin-opponent%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2528747&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) says it tricked Russia into paying a $500,000 bounty by faking the assassination of Denis Kapustin, known as &#8220;White Rex,&#8221; a Russian neo\u2011Nazi fighting on Ukraine&#8217;s side who Moscow had placed on its most\u2011wanted list. Kapustin had been reported killed in a Dec. 27 drone strike, but HUR chief Gen.Kyrylo Budanov released a video showing him alive and said Ukraine staged the killing and recovered the funds, which were used too <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-slippery-slope-of-intelligence-sharing-with-ukraine\/\" title=\"The Slippery Slope of Intelligence Sharing With Ukraine\">support ukrainian efforts<\/a>. Officials added the operation preserved Kapustin&#8217;s life and helped identify the Russian special\u2011service figures and operatives behind the plot. The report appears amid nearly four years of war marked by heavy casualties, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ongoing diplomatic efforts &#8211; including recent talks involving<\/a> U.S. President Donald Trump, Putin, and Zelensky &#8211; with Ukrainian leaders saying a peace deal is largely negotiated.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ukraine dupes Russia into paying $500,000 bounty with fake assassination of Putin opponent<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2459064\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\">Ukrainian <\/a>officials on Thursday said they tricked Russia into handing over half a million dollars to Kyiv after faking the assassination of one of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/moscow\/\">Moscow&rsquo;s<\/a> most wanted enemies.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine&rsquo;s military intelligence agency, the HUR, released <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/DIUkraine\/7647\">a video<\/a> appearing to indicate Denis Kapustin, or the &ldquo;White Rex,&rdquo; is still alive despite reportedly being killed in late December.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4399589\/kim-jong-uns-daughter-takes-center-stage-at-dynastic-ceremony\/\">Kim Jong Un&#8217;s daughter takes center stage at dynastic ceremony<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4397944\/zelensky-selects-ukraine-spy-chief-kyrylo-budanov-replace-disgraced-chief-of-staff\/\">Zelensky selects Ukraine spy chief Kyrylo Budanov to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-selects-kyrylo-budanov-to-replace-disgraced-chief-of-staff\/\" title=\"Zelensky selects ... to replace disgraced chief of staff\">replace disgraced chief<\/a> of staff<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4396039\/iran-threaten-us-troops-trump-promises-intervention-protests\/\">Iranian officials threaten US troops after Trump promises intervention on behalf of protesters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Moscow had issued a $500,000 bounty for Kapustin, known as a neo-Nazi Russian fighting on Ukraine&rsquo;s behalf. On Dec. 27, it appeared Russia had achieved its objective to eliminate the militant after Kapustin was reported dead in an alleged drone strike on eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>But HUR chief Gen. Kyrylo Budanov said in the new video that Ukraine had staged Kapustin&rsquo;s assassination and collected the funds from Moscow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Mr. Denis, congratulations on your return to life. That is always a pleasure. I am glad that the money allocated for your assassination was used to support our struggle,&rdquo; Budanov said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian officials said that as a &ldquo;result of a comprehensive special&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-pick-for-pentagon-policy-chief-opposed-sending-troops-to-southern-border\/\" title=\"Biden Pick for Pentagon Policy Chief Opposed Sending Troops to Southern Border\">intelligence operation<\/a>, Kapustin&rsquo;s life &ldquo;was preserved and the circle of individuals was identified: the masterminds within the Russian special services and the perpetrators&rdquo; seeking to eliminate the anti-Putin militant.<\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia-ukraine-war\/\">Russia-Ukraine war<\/a> has now stretched on for nearly four years. Casualties have reached sweeping numbers, with some estimates <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/06\/04\/europe\/russia-war-casualties-1-million-ukraine-intl\">placing deaths <\/a>in Russia alone at 1 million by June of 2025.<\/p>\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> has made ending the war a major focus of his foreign policy agenda, holding <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4363484\/volodymyr-zelensky-asked-50-year-security-guarantees-us\/\">meetings and phone calls <\/a>with both Russian President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vladimir-putin\/\">Vladimir Putin<\/a> and Ukrainian President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/volodymyr-zelensky\/\">Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> on the matter last month.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A peace deal is &ldquo;very close,&rdquo; Trump said following his meeting with Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3924770\/putin-warns-military-escalation-ukraine-gain-more-land-if-no-peace-deal\/\"><strong>PUTIN WARNS OF MILITARY ESCALATION IN UKRAINE TO GAIN MORE LAND IF NO PEACE DEAL IS REACHED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In a New Year&rsquo;s address to his country late Wednesday night, Zelensky said a possible deal is &ldquo;90% ready.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ten percent remains &hellip; Those 10% contain, in fact, everything,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Those are the 10% that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukraine fakes hit, nets $500K from Russia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2528748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zelensky-greece-meeting-november.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50577,4280,6991],"class_list":["post-2528747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-disinformation-2","tag-russia","tag-ukraine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/zelensky-greece-meeting-november.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2528747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2528747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2528747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2528751,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2528747\/revisions\/2528751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2528748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2528747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2528747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2528747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}