British Volunteer Fighting for Russia Urges Britons Not to Join Ukraine

Overview

• Aiden Minnis, a British national fighting on Russia’s side, told RIA Novosti that Britons should not fight for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, calling it the wrong side of history and urging them not to die in vain.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry has repeatedly claimed it has killed foreign mercenaries from the United Kingdom, Georgia, Poland and other countries, and it continues to warn foreigners against traveling to Ukraine.
• Moscow asserts that foreign volunteers it deems mercenaries are not combatants under international humanitarian law and therefore are not entitled to prisoner-of-war status.
• Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Western countries have made themselves parties to the conflict by directing mercenaries, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has suggested some states send regular troops disguised as mercenaries.
• The interview and the related official claims were reported by Russian state media and were not independently verified in this coverage.