Vladimir Verbitsky (Pro-Russian Militant, Italy)

• Full name: Vladimir Aleksandrovich Verbitsky
• Pseudonym: “Parma”
• Alternatives: N/a
• Location: Italy, fmr Ukraine
• Affiliation: Krutani, Cataldo and Palmeri Network [KCPN], fmr DPR’s People’s Militia [NMDNR], fmr Rusich Sabotage and Assault Reconnaissance Group [DShRG-R]

Vladimir Verbitsky (°1993) is a Russian immigrant from Moldova who has grown up in the Emilia region after his family moved to Italy in 2008.¹ As a young man, he worked as a bouncer at a nightclub in Parma.² Verbitsky also trained to become an Italian paratrooper or join the French foreign legion.³

Verbitsky was a known supporter of nationalist Lega party chief Matteo Salvini and became associated with the Lombardy-Russia Cultural Association, a Lega-linked club devoted to foster close relations between the two countries.⁴ In March 2015, he took part in an international gathering of pro-Russian nationalist activists in Saint-Petersburg.⁵ Verbitsky furthermore became associated with the Krutani, Cataldo and Palmeri Network [KCPN], a group of mostly right-wing Italians who supported Russian militant forces operating in Ukraine.⁶

In May 2015, Verbitsky traveled to the Donbas region where he reportedly linked up with the notorious national-socialist Rusich Sabotage and Assault Reconnaissance Group [DShRG-R; Diversionno-Shturmovaya Radvedyvatelnaya Gruppa Rusich].⁷ Verbitsky claimed to fight Ukrainian forces to avenge a friend who died in the May 02, 2014 confrontations between nationalists and supporters of Russia in Odessa.⁸ He later became associated with the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic [NMDNR; Narodnaya Militziya DNR].⁹ In August 2015, Verbitsky was featured in a propaganda video of the rebel authorities.¹⁰ He also gave interviews and was active on social media.¹¹

Despite his Russophilia, Verbitsky eventually returned to Italy. Police arrested him in Parma during the Aug. 01, 2018 crackdown on the KCPN.¹² A Genoese court sentenced Verbitsky to a prison term of one year and four months for his role in the network.¹³