DISINFO: The largest number of mercenaries in Ukraine comes from Poland
SUMMARY
The largest number of mercenaries [in Ukraine] comes from Poland, in second place - mercenaries from the U.S., in third place - from Georgia.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that foreigners fighting for Ukraine are mercenaries.
To begin with, pro-Kremlin claims on Polish citizens fighting in Ukraine have been dubious in the past, to say the very least.
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 has a heavy Russian accent, and his Polish language skills are far from even basic proficiency. It is evident that this person is not Polish.
When it comes to the general issue of foreign nationals fighting in the ranks of 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 here such as Foreigners from terrorist organisations are fighting for Ukraine.