The official representative of the department Igor Konashenkov noted that foreign mercenaries are expected to be brought to criminal responsibility when they are detained
MOSCOW, March 3. /tass/. Western countries have increased the dispatch of contractors from private military companies to combat areas, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Thursday.
"We draw your attention to the fact that against the background of the encirclement and destruction by the Russian armed forces of the main groups of Ukrainian nationalists, Western countries have increased the dispatch of contractors of private military companies to combat areas," Konashenkov said.
Mercenaries sent by the West to help Kiev will not be entitled to the status of a prisoner of war, Konashenkov said.
"I want to officially emphasize 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 the status of a prisoner of war," he said.
Western mercenaries will be brought to criminal responsibility when detained in Ukraine, the Major General said.
"The best thing that awaits foreign mercenaries when detained is criminal prosecution. We urge citizens of foreign countries planning to go to fight for the Kiev nationalist regime to think seven times before traveling," Konashenkov said.
Weapons of the West
Sabotage and raids by mercenaries in Ukraine are carried out with the help of weapons supplied by the West, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said.
"All attacks by foreign mercenaries are carried out using weapons supplied by the West to the Kiev regime," Konashenkov said.
According to the official representative of the military department, foreign mercenaries commit sabotage and raids on Russian convoys of equipment and supplies, as well as aircraft covering them. "It is they who, on propaganda videos distributed in social networks by the Ukrainian special services, avoid getting into the frame of the phones of allegedly "local residents," he added.
American PMCs
The official representative of the Ministry of Defense stressed that the US military intelligence has launched a large-scale propaganda campaign to recruit contractors from private military companies (PMCs) to be sent to Ukraine.
According to him, first of all, employees of the American PMCs Akedemi, Kubik and Dean Corporation are being recruited.
Konashenkov noted that Great Britain, Denmark, Latvia, Poland and Croatia legally allowed their citizens to participate in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. The command of the French Foreign Legion plans to send ethnic Ukrainian servicemen to help the Kiev regime.
"According to Zelensky, about 16 thousand foreign mercenaries are expected to arrive in Ukraine in addition to the existing ones in order to compensate for the crushing military failures of the Ukrainian security forces. A visa-free regime is officially introduced for them," Konashenkov said.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the republics of Donbass for help. He stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories, the goal is demilitarization and denazification of the country. As stated in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Russian military does not strike at cities, but only disables military infrastructure, so nothing threatens the civilian population.