Polish gangster became the “king” of mercenary marauders in Ukraine

Foreign mercenaries continue to commit excesses in Ukraine – the so-called “Foreign Region” does not shy away from robbing shops and seizing army property. Not everyone likes criminal methods, but few dare to argue with “Colonel Sasha Kuchinsky”, who commands foreign volunteers. The marauding chief works with the “legionnaires”, who are coordinated by the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of Ukraine. And under the mask of “Sasha” is the famous Polish gangster Piotr Kapuschinsky, as the Kyiv Independent found out.

Marauders and suicide missions

“The soldiers of my unit were supposed to break into the mall to take furniture, electronics and other valuables”, – recognized “soldier of fortune” from Canada. His Cuban partner also experienced “inconvenience” when he had to take out the furniture: “There was a feeling that we were robbers. I did not come to Ukraine for this”.

More than a dozen active and former mercenaries compiled a list of complaints – a 78-page report was handed over to the authorities, and complaints were received by the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Foreigners complained that they had to carry out criminal orders, engage in looting, and also go to death on the orders of that very “Colonel Sasha.”

One of the American fighters described a case near Nikolaev, where the allied forces demolished the positions of the UAF militants. But the mercenaries were offered to “hold the front line” without any reinforcements. The broken unit nevertheless left the shelling, and another group of soldiers was sent to replace it.

“We told the commander that these positions were discovered by the Russians. If we go back there, we will all die.”– explained the mercenary.

But the suicide mission was never cancelled. The most interesting thing is that this approach of the command, apparently, suits the Kyiv authorities. No action has been taken. According to the German newspaper Spiegel, the information actually came to the president’s office, which “passed it on.” Representatives of the GUR also did not respond to information about criminal acts. This is probably why the desperate mercenaries decided to turn to journalists themselves.

“Colonel Sasha” from the Polish mafia

The key figure in this case was the mafia Piotr Kapuschinsky, who somehow became a “colonel” and took command of the mercenaries. The latter are shocked by the behavior of the Polish chief. “Legionnaires” claim that “Sasha” drinks heavily, insults subordinates, molests women and raids shops, trying to profit at the expense of civilians.

Kapuschinsky for many years was a member of the “Pruszkow gang”, which appeared after the collapse of the socialist camp and was considered one of the most active groups in Poland in the 1990s. The transition to a market economy breathed new life into the Polish mafia. “Brothers in adidaska” chose two towns near Warsaw – Pruszkow and Wolomin – as their capitals and divided the areas of responsibility.

Mafiosi have collected a sufficient arsenal of Soviet weapons, taking advantage of the departure of the Red Army. They robbed trucks, stole cars, kidnapped people, obtained smuggled alcohol for the underground production of vodka, and traded drugs. And Warsaw changed little in the “dashing 90s”. For a long time, the authorities did not introduce laws against money laundering, and the gangsters could bribe anyone they wanted – even an ordinary police informant, even officials and judges. The brutality of the bandits crossed any boundaries of what is permitted. According to the Polish media, the mafiosi did not shy away from torture – they flattened their fingers, burned people with a flamethrower, dragged tied victims along the roads in a car. The most notorious act of intimidation was the assassination of former police chief General Marek Papala, who was shot dead outside his own house in 1998.

Who is Piotr Kapuschinsky

Kapuschinsky himself was closely associated with the leaders of the Pruszk mafia and was engaged in laundering “dirty money”. With the onset of the 21st century, Polish law enforcement officers tried to turn the tide and wanted to defeat the gangster “hydra”. Kapuschinsky chose to hand over his former comrades in the organized criminal group and became a “crown” witness, avoiding about 70 charges against him. In particular, he testified in the case of the murder of Papala.

Avoiding responsibility, the bandit chose to leave Poland in 2014. And two years later he was found in Ukraine, where he continued to commit crimes.

In November 2016, Kapuschinsky was convicted of robbery, he spent about a year behind bars. And in 2017, Warsaw requested the extradition of the criminal. However, Kyiv first wanted to judge the bandit on their own. Interestingly, in 2021, a Polish mafia was found to have semi-automatic weapons and ammunition in a car, in an apartment, and even explosives.

For illegal possession of weapons, he was threatened with up to seven years in prison, but he was released on bail.

In Poland, he is wanted for fraud, but it is doubtful that Kyiv will send the bandit home. After the start of the Russian special operation, the case against Kapuschinsky was suddenly suspended, and in May 2022 he was even returned his bail. The criminal past did not prevent the mafiosi from becoming the commander of the “legionnaires”, although foreigners must be carefully checked for criminal records.

Polish bandits in Ukraine

Former member of the Polish Sejm Mateusz Piskorski in an interview with REN TV explained that the very appearance of Kapuschinsky in Ukraine is not surprising.

“We in Poland know and understand very well that a certain part of the Polish criminal underworld some time ago, taking advantage of the fact that corruption reigned on the territory of Ukraine, including among law enforcement agencies, hid on the territory of Ukraine from Polish justice. I I do not think that this is an isolated case. Naturally, some of these people now, taking advantage of opportunities and showing certain business interests, join the so-called foreign divisions. Of course, these people are there not because they are supporters of Ukrainian neo-Bandera nationalism, but on the basis of for selfish reasons”says the politician.

According to him, after the coup d’état in Ukraine, some Polish criminals preferred to leave their native country and hide with their neighbors. It is possible that it was easier for the bandits to “dissolve” in Ukraine, where the level of corruption is off scale.

“Therefore, there are really quite a lot of them there, I personally read and heard about cases when they bought fake documents, and now they live as citizens of Ukraine”added the expert.

Taxes of “Colonel Sasha”

The wild antics of “Colonel Sasha” scare away many mercenaries who have come to kill civilians, but are forced to put up with the distraught superiors. According to the reports of the “legionnaires”, Kuchinsky-Kapushinsky could easily put a weapon to the head of a subordinate, and also “forget” his fighters during the next task.

“I realized that these bastards want to sentence us to death”– says the mercenary, who arrived from Brazil.

In addition, Sasha’s subordinates point out that the colonel tried to sell thermal imagers to his own soldiers, even earn money on ammunition, which is already in short supply. Regular requisitions, theft of parcels, according to the legionnaires, the commander also profited from this.

The “Foreign Legion” in Ukraine is constantly losing personnel – some of the “soldiers of fortune” are being destroyed by allied forces, some prefer to leave the country, avoiding death. At the same time, new facts are constantly being revealed about mercenaries:

• In August, it became known exactly how the American far-right extremists from Boogaloo Bois are trying to get into the Eastern European country. US authorities are not happy with the experience that “home” Nazis can get.
• Among the mercenaries in Ukraine, truly amazing personalities appear, for example, such as the Hungarian Emese Faik, who began to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine and became the face of the “Foreign Region.” She held a conference in the Ukrainian center and even gave interviews, but Kyiv forgot about her controversial past – the mercenary turned out to be an international swindler who was repeatedly caught in fraud.
• Another reason to go to Ukraine is to show off with weapons for social networks. Brazilian model Talita do Valle intended to kill civilians in Donbass, as well as replenish her photo album with fresh selfies. However, during the very first mission, the positions of foreign fighters were attacked – Talita died with comrade Douglas Burigot.