It is impossible to convince Russia to pursue peace at the negotiating table. Moscow does not want peace. It wants to show the world its power on the battlefield, says Denys Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (the RDK) fighting within the Ukrainian army, per Suspiline.
Last year, news shocked everyone when reports claimed Kapustin had died on the Zaporizhzhia front. Early this year, it became clear he was alive, as this was a special operation by Ukraine’s Intelligence.
Stopping Russia is possible only on the battlefield, by inflicting serious military defeats, Kapustin emphasizes.
Demonstrating strength on the front: 30,000 troops per month
Until this happens, while Russia continues to deploy around 30,000 soldiers every month, Kapustin says he does not trust negotiations or diplomacy to succeed. Perhaps stronger external pressure from Western countries, or maybe China, could force Russia to stop.
The Russian Volunteer Corps under Kapustin reports directly to Ukraine’s Intelligence. The unit has gained recognition for its participation in complex operations, including raids on Russian territory in the Bryansk, Belgorod, and Kursk oblasts.
But year after year passes, and soon marks the fourth anniversary of the war’s start.
“Unfortunately, the united, or not fully united, forces of the West could not find arguments to stop Russia,” Kapustin says.
He adds that everyone remembers the Minsk agreements, which “unfortunately did not stop the war.”
“Any ceasefire or frozen conflict will only be a pause before the next iteration, because the current outcome does not satisfy the Russian Federation," he claims.
Peace is not the victory Russia dreamed of, promoted, and used to convince everyone. And, without doubt, it would also constitute a loss for Ukraine.
“Therefore, only total victory—only the Russian Volunteer Corps flag over the Kremlin walls—will truly stop this war,” he says.
Kapustin believes that the Russian regime can exist only in a permanently mobilized army. To prevent it from collapsing, it always needs an enemy.
Russia’s neighbors under the gun: Kazakhstan, the Baltics, and the Caucasus
Kapustin says he hears in Russian society and on the Runet discussions about Northern Kazakhstan, which they claim as "ours", and about Azerbaijan.
“Certainly, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have long been under the gun,” he says.
Any neighbor of the Russian Federation is a potential enemy and a potential territory for the next “special military operation.”
“Therefore, the Kremlin regime must be stopped and destroyed at the root. Otherwise, no country bordering vast Russia will have peace while this regime remains in power,” he concludes.
