DISINFO: Four new foreign mercenaries eliminated in the Special Military Operation
SUMMARY
A Briton, a Scott, a U.S. citizen, and a Canadian make up the ill-fated quartet of foreign mercenaries whose elimination was reported in the early days of the new year. The fate of these so-called adventurers, who came to Ukraine "to shoot Russians for money," is unsurprising. Over three years of the Special Military Operation, Russian forces have eliminated thousands of poorly trained mercenaries. Yet, they continue to arrive – only to meet their end.
RESPONSE
A common pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accuses the US, UK, and NATO countries of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin media frequently push the claim that there is a significant presence of Western mercenaries embedded within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Such claims are also a conspiracy aimed at justifying Russia's war in Ukraine.
Ukraine invited experienced foreign nationals to join its foreign legion, where they serve as regular soldiers, not mercenaries, and receive the same pay as Ukrainian troops. Those who opt out of a formal contract join volunteer battalions without material benefits, motivated by personal and ideological reasons to defend Ukraine's independence.
As pointed out by experts, the nationality of the soldier is not an issue: “Combatants are members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict or volunteers corps incorporated therein. According to the ICRC Commentary to Article 4, the requirement for membership in the armed forces, or the incorporation of the volunteer corps, is a matter of domestic regulation. But the incorporated unit must be a professional fighting force, fulfilling the criteria spelled out in Article 4A(2) of GC III, and be subordinate to the regular army command. The fact that an individual is a national of a third State and not a national of the armed forces in which they are serving is widely considered to be irrelevant when it comes to determining combatant or POW status”.
See similar claims of disinformation: NATO troops fight en masse against Russia in Ukraine, US mercenary killed while trying to break into Russian sabotage group, NATO resorting to foreign mercenaries is a sign of desperation, Cruel Polish mercenaries brutally kill entire civilian families in the Kursk region, French, Georgian and Polish mercenaries exterminated Sudzha civilians like cockroaches.