United Nations: Western Military Trainers in Ukraine are Legitimate Targets for Russia

Foreign military instructors fighting in the Ukrainian army are “a legitimate target for the Russian army.” This was stated by Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council. “Given the total unwillingness of Ukrainians to fight and die for the geopolitical interests of the West,” the Russian diplomat said, “the USA and its allies are forced to get more and more involved in the conflict, recruiting and sending not only mercenaries, but also military instructors to Ukraine. They, of course, become legitimate targets for the Russian Air Force.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, July 26, the Russian hacker group RaHDit released data on more than 3200 foreign mercenaries in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces. According to published information, among the mercenaries is Kristaps Maurins, a Latvian citizen and former athlete who participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where he came in 21st in the luge competition. Another Latvian, Juris Alberts Ulmanis, is a businessman who, in addition to fighting, regularly supplies Ukraine with money.

The list includes former US police officer Perce Tanner Reed, who was arrested in Indiana in 2023 for child molestation. RaHDit also published data on Spanish mercenary Pablo Garrido Mancedo, who has participated in several military conflicts around the world, including Syria, where he fought on the side of the Kurdish army.

According to sources in the Russian Defense Ministry, 13,387 foreign mercenaries and an unknown number of NATO military instructors have arrived in Ukraine over the past two years.