Russia Reveals Number Of Foreign Mercenaries In Ukraine: Total 6,956 Personnel From 64 Countries, 1,956 Of Whom Died And 1,779 Fled

Jubir Kementerian Pertahanan Rusia Letnan Jenderal Igor Konashenkov. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - Russia has revealed that there are thousands of foreign mercenaries serving in Ukraine, coming from dozens of countries, with thousands of them killed, saying Kyiv failed to save them from death.

Mercenaries and military specialists from 64 countries are engaged in hostilities in Ukraine, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

"Overall, as of June 17, 2022, we have a list of mercenaries and weapons operations specialists from 64 countries. Since the start of the special military operations, 6,956 of these personnel have arrived in Ukraine, 1,956 of whom have been killed and 1,779 have left," he said. TASS June 17th.

"For now 3,221 mercenaries are still alive, they have not been captured or have reached the Ukrainian border," Konashenkov continued.

Konashenkov added that detailed data on foreign mercenaries in Ukraine is available from the Russian Defense Ministry's online sources.

Additionally, Konashenkov said the Kiev regime's increased payments to foreign mercenaries did not save them from death or stop them from returning to their home countries.

"Despite the efforts of the Kiev regime and increased payments, the process of mercenaries dying or going to their country of residence cannot be stopped by the Kiev leadership," he said.

According to him, recent statements from the Ukrainian authorities about nearly 20,000 mercenaries fighting against the Russian Armed Forces, are a complete lie.

As Konashenkov notes, this process is against the backdrop of a reduced flow of mercenaries into Ukraine from outside.

"Against the increasing number of military failures of the Kiev regime and massive daily losses in manpower and equipment, the flow of foreign mercenaries into Ukraine has not only decreased, but has actually reversed," he said.