Notorious former football hooligan Denis Nikitin runs a controversial unit actively engaged alongside Ukraine forces
Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates
Denis Nikitin arrived for an interview at a Kyiv restaurant with a pistol strapped to his side and flanked by two armed bodyguards. It would not have been a surprising sight in wartime Ukraine but for one detail: Nikitin is Russian.
Before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Nikitin was known as a notorious Russian nationalist, who built links between far-right groups across Europe and was once a major figure on Russia’s football hooliganism scene.
More Stories
‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation
British tourist missing after diving boat catches fire off Thai island
Body found in NSW bushland believed to be missing six-year-old girl