The Russian Volunteer Corps Gathers Intel From Russian Missile Engineers

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) is a right-wing paramilitary unit based in Ukraine. Composed of Russian citizens, it formed in August 2022 to fight the government of Vladimir Putin. On May 1, 2024, the corps' Chief of Staff gave a series of interviews covering a variety of topics, including ongoing hostilities, the unit's goals, the corps' stance on nationalism, and intel gathering operations in Russian territory. Regarding the latter, the RDK claims to be in possession of almost complete documentation of the Russian missile program, including: technical tasks, designs, schematics, and minutes of meetings. According to the chief of staff, the intel was acquired from Russian engineers themselves, who collaborated for money. RDK operates on Russian territory. It states that among its goals is the collapse of Putin's regime.

YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO THE MEMRI DOMESTIC TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR (DTTM) TO READ THE FULL REPORT. GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA CAN REQUEST A COPY BY WRITING TO DTTMSUBS@MEMRI.ORG WITH THE REPORT TITLE IN THE SUBJECT LINE. PLEASE INCLUDE FULL ORGANIZATIONAL DETAILS AND AN OFFICIAL EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR REQUEST. NOTE: WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE A COPY ONLY TO MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT, LAW ENFORCEMENT, MEDIA, AND ACADEMIA, AND TO SUBSCRIBERS; IF YOU DO NOT MEET THESE CRITERIA PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST.

On May 1, 2024, the RDK's Chief of Staff, Alexander (a.k.a. "Fortuna") gave an interview to Ukrainian 5 Kanal news outlet. The interview covered a variety of topics, but focused mainly on intelligence, acquired by the unit, of a Russian missile program,. During the course of hostilities in Ukraine, the corps expanded its activities. Alexander noted that the corps is not merely a combat unit, but also engages in political activity and, as interviewee put it, "OSINT," or open-source intelligence, including Russia's missile, electronic warfare, and submarine programs, as well as investigation of war crimes and missing persons' searches.

The main object of the RDK's intel-gathering operations currently seems to be the Russian state-owned "Almaz-Antey" corporation. The company manages several important arms industry plants, engages in manufacturing of air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, surveillance, and radar equipment. Alexander stated that about a year and a half ago, the corps acquired documentation on a Russian missile program, and based on that information, the RDK was able to identify Russian engineers engaged in missile manufacturing. "Some of these engineers began to cooperate with us, some refused, and some we were able to 'hack,' so to speak, i.e., we were able penetrate [Russian] plant's security system,” claims Alexander. In this regard, the RDK's chief of staff mentioned the "Novator Design Bureau," where the group was able to access insider correspondence. In addition to technical documentation, RDK managed to acquire private info on the engineers working at the plant. "I have information about what gifts the children of engineers received for last New Year... where they go [on vacation], where they live..." boasted the interviewee.

The screenshot above is from  an RDK Telegram channel dedicated to auctioning the corps' "military artifacts, such as the RDK's banner; covers for body armor, and the uniform of the first captured Russian soldier. In the video embedded in the post, the Chief of Staff of the RDK Alexander sits to the right of RDK’s commander Denis Nikitin (aka "White Rex").

Alexander notes that many engineers they have contacted are willing to cooperate with the corps, provided they are handsomely paid. The RDK's chief of staff notes that majority of Russian engineers receive a poor salary, and some are eager to regularly sell intel when the corps offers them a monthly payment of about $1,000 - $1,500. Alexander claims that there are dozens of such collaborating engineers, working at various plants in the Russian missile program. He contends that Moscow fails to protect the personal information of the engineers; the engineers often become the target of the state's prosecutors.

Above is a Telegram post by the RDK's commander, Denis Nikitin. The post announces the arrival of a new group of RDK's recruits in Ukraine. The photo is a stack of Russian passports - implying that the new recruits are Russian nationals. The caption celebrates those who choose to join the RDK: "Our ranks are steadily growing, despite all the lies of the Kremlin propaganda. Men have taken this difficult step, and chose our Brotherhood and our Order [the RDK], and most importantly, they chose the true struggle for the Motherland and the future of Russia!"

The interviewee argues that Russia's potential to manufacture missiles has been severely limited by Western sanctions. For instance, despite interesting projects in the field of R&D, their realization lacks infrastructure and components; projects are face financial troubles. Thus, they are focusing on the modernization of equipment already in service. As an example, "Fortuna" recalls recent uses of the "FAB"-family of heavy aviation bombs. These bombs, designed back in the days of the Soviet Union, are being equipped with airborne planning modules. "Now, they [the Kremlin] are simply trying to use old stocks [of arms] effectively," he concludes.

   
The screenshot is a post on the official Russian Defense Ministry Telegram channel. Accompanying the post is a video of a Russian "Sukhoi" Su-34 supersonic fighter-bomber, equipped with an FAB-500 bomb. It appears that the bomb was modernized with a universal airborne planning and correction module.

In addition, RDK's chief of staff claims that Russian missiles contain foreign components, despite the import restrictions imposed on Moscow. The use of foreign parts varies depending on the sector of military manufacturing. For instance, in UAV production, the Kremlin uses Chinese-made components, while Russian missile manufacturing still uses many EU-made components. It seems that the Kremlin circumvents restrictions through "grey supplies" schemes, importing the required components through third countries—mainly the Republics of Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan, according to Alexander.

"The global goal of the Russian Volunteer Corps (...) is the dismantling of the existing Kremlin regime as an institution for governing the country."

The RDK members gave several other interviews: to GUALGU-net and ICTV media. In these, they discussed their long-term goals. The corps strives to collapse Russia's current regime, perceiving itself as the only true and effective Russian opposition. Perhaps, they say, they could even bring RDK members to power in Russia. For instance, in the interview with GUALGU-net, the RDK's chief of staff describes Russian authorities: "We are dealing with criminals, who are absolutely unprincipled maniacs and murderers (...) People from, let's say, right-wing, nationalist circles, realized this a long time ago." Another RDK member, Alexei Levkin, in an interview with ICTV, amplified that view, stating: "What does it mean to support Ukraine? It means, first and foremost, not putting up with injustice in your own country, Russia."

Judging from other interviews, RDK continues to expand its operations, planning incursions into Russian territory, as occurred in May 2023 and March – April 2024.

Among the goals of such attacks is to draw Russian troops away from the other sectors of the front in the direction of Belgorod.

This screenshot of a post on the RDK Telegram channel depicts a video address by Chief of Staff of the RDK Alexander (aka "Fortuna") to the Russian soldiers. He notes the failure and heavy casualties the Russians suffered in the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv Oblast, and urges Russian army soldiers to join the RDK: " If you are tired of participating in 'meat grinders' [heavy-casualty offensives] and experiencing the brutal treatment of your commanders and fellow servicemen - join the Russian Volunteer Corps," he concludes.