Mercenaries deployed by the western countries in Ukraine will not be treated as prisoner-of-war (POW) and will be subject to criminal liability, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday, reports Russian News Agency TASS.
Amidst the ongoing clashes between NATO-backed Ukrainian and Russian troops, the Russian Defense Ministry has said that the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine will not enjoy the right of combatants under international humanitarian law.
“I wish to make an official statement that none of the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine to fight for the nationalist regime in Kiev can be considered as combatants in accordance with international humanitarian law or enjoy the status of prisoners of war,” Konashenkov said.
Igor Konashenkov stated that mercenaries in Ukraine are carrying out sabotage activities with the weapons supplied by the West. Konashenkov said that foreign mercenaries were attacking the Russian military and supporting aircraft. Konashenkov also said the US intelligence has launched a mass campaign to recruit more mercenaries.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Great Britain, Denmark, Latvia, Poland, and Croatia of legally authorising their citizens to participate in the ongoing Ukraine war. France plans to send ethnic Ukrainians serving in its foreign legion to Ukraine as well, Konashenkov added.
“According to Zelenskyy, about 16,000 foreign mercenaries are expected to arrive in Ukraine in addition to those already available to compensate for the crushing military failures of the Ukrainian security forces. A visa-free regime is officially introduced for them,” the spokesperson said.
Konashenkov also revealed that nearly 200 troops arrived in Ukraine from Croatia to join one of the Nazi battalions.
He also warned that all foreign mercenaries detained in Ukraine would be brought to justice on criminal charges.
“At best, they can expect to be prosecuted as criminals. We are urging all foreign citizens who may have plans to go and fight for Kiev’s nationalist regime to think a dozen times before getting on the way,” Konashenkov said.
Konashenkov also alleged that the Ukrainian secret services are putting out propaganda videos filmed by local civilians.