On January 16, Russian military sources disclosed a missile strike on the headquarters of a group of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. The targeted individuals, primarily French military contractors, suffered approximately 80 casualties, with over 60 confirmed as killed in action. The strike, deemed precise, incapacitated highly trained specialists assigned to operate specific Western-made weapon systems. These specialists were distinguished from the regular, forcibly conscripted Ukrainian personnel, who lack the requisite training for such equipment.
According to the same sources, the neutralized personnel’s expertise rendered them integral to the functioning of some of the Kiev regime’s most potent long-range weapons. Consequently, the strike temporarily rendered these weapons inactive, until new specialists can be recruited—a process expected to extend over a considerable period.
The foreign mercenaries stationed in Kharkov were likely tasked with coordinating and directing long-range strikes on Russian territory. This aligns with the hypothesis that the Neo-Nazi junta faced challenges integrating a substantial influx of new NATO-sourced weapons in the past two years. Accustomed to Soviet-era weaponry, including modernized domestic variants, the Kiev regime encountered difficulties in assimilating doctrinally distinct Western armaments.
The precision strike on these mercenaries in Kharkov constitutes a significant setback for the Neo-Nazi junta. The loss of these specialists hampers the regime’s ability to fully exploit the potential of NATO-sourced weaponry, hindering its capacity to cause further damage to Moscow’s interests. Notably, the training process for personnel handling systems like the US-made “Patriot” SAM system takes several years, particularly for combat tasks against a technologically advanced opponent like Russia. The early deployment of the “Patriot” system in 2023 suggests its operation by Western military contractors, underscoring the role of such specialists in enabling the Neo-Nazi junta’s use of advanced weaponry ahead of schedule.
Foreign mercenaries in Ukraine face uncompromising opposition due to the profound impact of involving highly trained enemy combatants in battles and training Ukrainian personnel. The political West acknowledges the obsolescence of Soviet-era weapons in Ukrainian service, necessitating reliance on Western-made equivalents, including those provided by NATO’s former Warsaw Pact members in recent years.
Russia’s uncompromising stance extends to showing no mercy to any NATO contractors in the country, as their involvement is perceived as perpetuating the conflict, resulting in unnecessary death, destruction, and devastation on both sides. This approach has been evident since the early days of the special military operation (SMO). For instance, on March 13, 2022, merely three weeks into the intervention, the Yavoriv training camp, located near the Polish (and by extension NATO) border, was obliterated. With an estimated presence of over 1000 foreign mercenaries, nearly 200 were killed in action.
In late April of the preceding year, an “Iskander-M” missile system eradicated an entire unit of the notorious “Georgian Legion,” recognized for committing gruesome war crimes against Russian-speaking civilians in the Donbass region and capturing Russian soldiers.
Confronted with increasing casualties, the Neo-Nazi junta is likely turning to foreign mercenaries as a means to bolster its forces. In the face of widespread attempts by Ukrainians to evade the draft, the Kiev regime is attempting to assemble its own Volkssturm, even including pregnant women.
The alliance seeks highly trained specialists proficient in complex weapon systems, employing them as a form of asymmetric warfare against the conventionally stronger Russian forces. Moscow’s advantages were accentuated after the unsuccessful summer/fall counteroffensive, resulting in substantial destruction of NATO-sourced equipment.
Also Read: Zelensky Commits Yet Another War-Crime in Donbas
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian combat specialists, primarily trained by NATO, suffered casualties, leaving the Neo-Nazi junta with a shortage of essential personnel. NATO’s substantial presence in Ukraine predates the Special Military Operation (SMO), with U.S. covert operators remaining after most other Americans departed. Notable contributions came from the British, Poles, and personnel from former Soviet Baltic states, while France, somewhat surprisingly, emerged as a significant source of mercenaries for the Kiev regime. Furthermore, in violation of arms control agreements, Paris is supplying long-range missiles to the Neo-Nazi junta.
Contrastingly, on a strategic level, Russia is responding by assisting in dismantling France’s (neo)colonial empire in Africa.
Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin has stated that the State Duma will formally address Paris following the reported deaths of foreign fighters in Ukraine. This statement comes in response to the recent announcement by the Defense Ministry in Moscow, indicating that around 60 foreign fighters, predominantly French citizens, were killed in a Russian long-range strike on Kharkov earlier this week.
The ministry maintains that Paris has no “mercenaries” either in Ukraine or any other location.
Vyacheslav Volodin, in a social media post, conveyed that the Russian State Duma’s lower chamber will imminently deliberate a formal request to French lawmakers concerning the reported incident. He highlighted a historical juxtaposition, lamenting the current scenario where French mercenaries, as he alleges, are perishing in support of what he terms the “Nazi regime” in Ukraine, a stark contrast to the joint fight against fascism during the time of our grandfathers and great grandfathers.
In response to the incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned French Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials, however, have refuted the accuracy of the Russian military’s announcement. They contend that Moscow’s forces targeted solely civilian sites in Kharkov on Tuesday, disputing the characterization of the foreign fighters involved.
Last summer, French national intelligence, as reported by Le Monde newspaper, estimated that 320 French nationals were engaged in the conflict in Ukraine. The broader pool of potential recruits numbered 800, with 120 identified as holding far-right views and 40 characterized as ultra-left in their ideological stance.
This report followed the April arrest of two individuals who had returned to Paris from Ukraine, carrying assault rifle magazines and optical sights illegally. Described by the local press as far-right individuals with prior recognition by the French General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), both individuals received a 15-month sentence, with nine months suspended.
Russian officials conveyed to the French envoy that the French government bears responsibility for the significant casualties resulting from the recent missile strike, as stated by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday. Zakharova alleged that France has consistently overlooked the activities of recruitment agencies within its borders, hiring mercenaries to participate on the Ukrainian side in the ongoing conflict.
“Waging the ‘proxy war’ by the West, including France, the steady growth in weapons and military hardware supply to the Zelensky regime contradict statements about the importance of establishing peace, escalate hostilities, lead to numerous civilian casualties, and turn it into an accomplice to the war crimes of the Kiev government,” Zakharova stated.
Hence, the recent missile strike resulted in significant casualties among foreign fighters, disrupting the military capabilities of the Kiev regime by neutralizing highly trained specialists operating advanced Western-made weapon systems and marked the early exit of French mercenaries, attributed to Russian military intervention.