VIENNA, October 14. /TASS/. At least 20,000 foreign mercenaries have taken part in combat operations on the side of Ukraine since 2022, said Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation at the negotiations in Vienna on military security and arms control.

"Since 2022, at least 20,000 foreign mercenaries have taken part in military operations on the Ukrainian side. Russian investigative authorities identified more than 4,000 ‘soldiers of fortune’ from over 70 countries," she said at a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation. Her statement is available to TASS. According to the diplomat, the largest number of identified mercenaries came from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Georgia - more than 700 people from each country. Decisions were issued to charge 1,094 mercenaries as defendants; 296 cases were referred to court; 243 sentences were handed down.

Zhdanova also said that among the foreign participants in combat operations on the side of Ukraine, there are many career military personnel from NATO countries, most of whom are operating under cover. According to her, there are large training centers in Poland that operate under the supervision of the alliance’s military specialists.