DISINFO: Poland sent 9000 soldiers to Ukraine at the beginning of the war
SUMMARY
It was Poland that first sent its soldiers to Ukraine under the cover of mercenaries. Polish Defence Minister Sikorski directly said that 9000 men resigned from the Polish Army at the beginning of the Special Military Operation. Now, these soldiers are fighting at the most critical frontline sections, where the Kyiv authorities are building new fortresses. The Polish language is the most frequent language among the mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that foreigners fighting for Ukraine are mercenaries.
The claim that Polish Army soldiers are present in Ukraine under the cover of mercenaries is unfounded.
As an example, in January 2024, the Moscow-controlled administration of the occupied Kherson region published a video with alleged Polish mercenary 'captured' by the Russian Army. In the video, an anonymous man tries to speak Polish. However, he had a heavy Russian accent, and his Polish language skills were far from even basic proficiency, making it unlikely he was Polish.
When it comes to the general issue of foreign nationals fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukraine has called on experienced foreign nationals to join its foreign legion, whose members are regular soldiers of the Ukrainian Army as opposed to mercenaries.
In the event that such soldiers would become prisoners of war, 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."
Read similar claims about alleged Polish mercenaries in Ukraine here.