Russian-occupation authorities in Sevastopol have arrested several former and current fighters of the disbanded Española naval unit on weapons- and explosives-trafficking charges, according to a report by the Russian newspaper Kommersant, citing the Southern District Military Court. The arrests come roughly five months after Russian security services killed the unit's founder, Stanislav Orlov, in the same city, hosting the Russian Black Sea Fleet's main base in Ukraine's occupied Crimean peninsula.
Russia's own court is locking up Russia's own fighters
The Southern District Military Court is processing the cases. Investigators are searching Crimea for arms caches the suspects allegedly hid. Kommersant did not specify the total number of those detained.
The court recently refused to transfer one of the accused from pretrial detention to house arrest. The man had pleaded guilty and signed a cooperation deal with investigators. His defense told the court he is the father of four children. Russian prosecutors and investigators objected to the release, arguing that "not all members of the criminal group have been identified," Radio Liberty Russia reported.
The earlier arrest of the unit's former naval commander, Ruslan Kazantsev — call sign "Altai" — was reported in 2025.
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A football-hooligan brigade that fought in Donbas
The Española brigade was made up largely of football ultras and far-right militants. It was founded by Stanislav Orlov, known by the call sign "the Spaniard." Several of its fighters had taken part in the Donbas war starting in 2014, a year when Russia occupied the entire Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine. After Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the unit first formed within the so-called "DNR" — the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast — Vostok brigade, then was folded into Russia's Defense Ministry Volunteer Corps as the 88th sabotage and reconnaissance brigade.
The naval unit specifically was set up at the end of 2024. Orlov claimed it was meant "to defend the coast of Crimea" — including by hitting Ukrainian sea drones with FPV drones in its area of responsibility.
Russia’s “Española” military brigade of football ultras and far-right militants announces dissolution
The unit dissolved, and then the commander killed
Española announced its dissolution in October 2025. On 4 December 2025, Orlov was killed in Sevastopol, and sources told the Russian news Telegram channel Astra that Russian security services were behind the killing. Astra's sources stated that Orlov was shot during an attempted detention on suspicion of arms trafficking. Witnesses contacted by Astra said the former commander did not fire back.
Russia has tightened its grip on irregular formations since Yevgeny Prigozhin's June 2023 mutiny, treating semi-autonomous commanders as liabilities. Orlov's killing fit that pattern. The Sevastopol arrests now extend to the men who served under him.
