Staff of US private military companies, foreign mercenaries fighting Ukraine's war: Russia

Sanjeev Sharma

New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) US military intelligence has launched a large-scale campaign to recruit contract soldiers from private military companies (PMC) to be sent to Ukraine, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov.

"US military intelligence has launched a large-scale campaign to recruit PMC contractors to be sent to Ukraine," he said.

First of all, employees of the American PMCs -- Academi, Cubic and Dean Corporation -- are recruited, Konashenkov said, RT reported.

The representative of the ministry also noted that Britain, Denmark, Latvia, Poland and Croatia have legally allowed their citizens to participate in the hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.

"The command of the French foreign legion plans to send military personnel - ethnic Ukrainians - to help the Kiev regime," he said.

Foreign mercenaries who have arrived in Ukraine are committing sabotage and raids on Russian convoys of equipment and supplies, as well as aircraft covering them," Konashenkov said.

The Russian armed forces surrounded and destroyed the main groups of Ukrainian nationalists, and it was against this background that mercenaries from other countries began to arrive in Ukraine, he said.

"We draw your attention to the fact that against the backdrop of the encirclement and destruction of the main groups of Ukrainian nationalists by the Russian armed forces, Western countries have increased the dispatch of contract soldiers from private military companies to the combat areas," he said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has warned that all mercenaries who come to Ukraine to help the Kiev regime are not combatants and are not eligible for prisoner of war status, RT reported.

"I want to officially emphasise that all mercenaries sent by the West to help the Kiev nationalist regime are not combatants under international humanitarian law. They are not entitled to prisoner of war status," he said.

"The best thing" that awaits foreign mercenaries upon arrest is criminal prosecution, Konashenkov added.

"We urge citizens of foreign countries planning to go to fight for the Kiev nationalist regime to think twice before the trip," the representative of the defense department concluded.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at [email protected])