Russia and Ukraine are discussing another prisoner swap, according to statements from both sides. Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council secretary Rustem Umerov said Kyiv was holding indirect talks with Moscow on the return of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that expert-level contacts existed. At the same time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had said the previous exchange nearly collapsed, with only about 30% of the planned 1,200 prisoners ultimately swapped.
Against that backdrop, a dispute broke out on social media between members of ultra-right units fighting on opposite sides: the Rusich sabotage and assault group within Russian forces, and fighter Stepan Kaplunov of the Russian Volunteer Corps, known as “Landsknecht.” The trigger was a photograph circulated in pro-war Russian Telegram channels on November 13, showing an armed man standing near three bodies wearing what appeared to be Ukrainian military uniforms.
On November 14, Kaplunov reposted the image and urged followers to send him photos of killed Russian prisoners of war in exchange for money. He then published at least three such images in his blog with approving remarks. The next day, people in his circle began arguing that soldiers should choose death over capture, and Kaplunov endorsed the spread of a supposed “self-liquidation instruction” describing suicide with a firearm or grenade.
Rusich then joined in. On November 15, the group announced its own “contest,” promising cryptocurrency for photos taken against the backdrop of “zeroed out” prisoners. The article notes that the formation had previously been associated with brutality toward captives. Among its best-known members it names Aleksey Milchakov, Yevgeny Rasskazov, and Yan Petrovsky, who is already serving a life sentence in Finland for war crimes committed in Ukraine in 2014–2015.
The report says both groups had recently tried to improve their public image. After the posts, however, the Russian Volunteer Corps distanced itself from Kaplunov’s statements on November 17, saying it follows the Geneva Conventions. After the article was published, on November 22, RVC commander Denis Kapustin told Novaya-Europe that the unit is required to comply with international wartime norms and that any possible violations should lead to an official inquiry and measures against those responsible.