On August 19, 2024 Rusich asked for a Ukrainian prisoner to be surrendered to them for a human sacrifice for "autumnal equinox to encourage and strengthen the spirit of the new personnel of the unit". Rusich is affiliated with neo-pagan groups and the satanist Order of Nine Angles that practices human sacrifice and its affiliated groups like Atomwaffen.[65] Later photos emerged of Rusich members "sacrificing and mutilating" a Chechen Akhmat fighter.[66]