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A former mercenary from the Russian Wagner Group has joined the anti-Kremlin RDK volunteer corps to fight against the Russian army. A video released by the RDK on Sunday shows a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in which former mercenary in the Russian private army, Vladislav Izmailov, decides to join the unit.
The volunteer corps stated on Telegram that Izmailov, after appropriate verification, would be happy to fight in its ranks. Izmailov is probably the first publicly known defector. The RDK consists of Russian nationalists who fight against the Russian army together with Kiev. They have been deployed for weeks in the Russian border area around Belgorod.
Neo-Nazi leader
The leader of RDK is one of the most famous neo-Nazis in Germany, Denis Nikitin (38). The man moved from Russia to Germany as a child and lived temporarily as a refugee in Cologne.
Nikitin’s network extends into Switzerland. The neo-Nazi has at least since 2017 ties with the former chairman of the far-right National Oriented Swiss (PNOS) party, Florian Gerber. He is said to have handled the affairs of his clothing company White Rex in Switzerland for Nikitin, the Spiegel reported.
“Traditional Punishment”
Ex-Wagner mercenary Ismailov became known in December 2022 through an interview with the Russian human rights organization in exile Gulagu.net. He stated that he was captured in Ukraine in November, having been recruited from a Russian prison a few months earlier to fight for Wagner’s mercenaries. The former prisoner claims that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin personally recruited him.
Prigozhin describes Ismailov in his Telegram channel as a “traitor”. The 62-year-old threatens the defector with a “punishment that should correspond to Wagner traditions”. A video was released last year of Wagner mercenaries killing a former comrade-in-arms with a sledgehammer. This clip caused international outrage. (no)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
