The Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s intelligence service (GUR) claimed on Wednesday that ‘United Russia’, Vladimir Putin’s party, was forming its own ‘private army’, the ‘Hispaniola’ mercenary company. Many of those in its ranks belong to the Russian militant group Vostok Battalion, a regiment that is part of the pro-Russian forces in Donbas and operates mainly in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk. ‘Hispaniola’ was previously part of the battalion as a volunteer unit of Russian football hooligans. The GUR reports that since 2023, United Russia has taken control of ‘Hispaniola’, d…