Russia launches missile attack, eliminates 60 foreign mercenaries in Donbass fortress

A missile is launched from Russia's Iskander system (Photo: Sputnik).

At a press conference today, April 24, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense , announced that the Russian raid in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Konstantinovka in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) left 60 gunmen of the "Georgian Legion" dead, 15 military vehicles destroyed and 20 foreign mercenaries seriously injured.

The attack was carried out using Russia's Iskander short-range ballistic missile system and targeted a library in Konstantinovka, which foreign militants were using as a residence and ammunition storage facility, Mr. Konashenkov said.

"The dead gunmen from the Georgian Legion took part in the torture and execution of Russian servicemen near Kiev in March last year," the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman added.

Mr. Konashenkov affirmed that the Russian military possesses data on all foreign mercenaries involved in the execution of Russian prisoners of war. "Each of them will be punished appropriately," the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry warned.

The city of Konstantinovka has recently been the focus of heavy shelling, as Russian forces close in on the neighboring city of Bakhmut. Ukraine has formed new units to block the Russian advance on this front.

Since Russia began its military campaign in Ukraine, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of abuses and torture, as well as brutal treatment of civilians. Last May, Russia's Investigative Committee said it had reviewed a video posted on social media showing a Georgian mercenary mistreating a captured Russian soldier.

Russia has repeatedly warned that it does not consider foreign mercenaries in Ukraine to be combatants under the Geneva Conventions, and that if they are caught, they will be tried and face maximum prison sentences. Russia has also said that efforts by Ukrainian authorities to provide foreign fighters with legal protection by including them in the armed forces or issuing Ukrainian passports will not protect them from prosecution.

The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Western governments of encouraging their citizens to join the fight against Russian troops in Ukraine as mercenaries. Moscow has declared zero tolerance for mercenaries in Ukraine. Russia has also repeatedly announced airstrikes against foreign mercenary training centers in Ukraine.

In another development, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military corporation Wagner, asked gunmen fighting in Bakhmut to shoot down Ukrainian soldiers instead of taking them prisoner.

The Wagner boss's statement came after a Telegram channel linked to Wagner posted a conversation purportedly between Ukrainian soldiers, in which the soldiers appeared to discuss shooting Russian prisoners of war.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-tap-kich-ten-lua-loai-60-linh-danh-thue-nuoc-ngoai-o-phao-dai-donbass-20230424190016456.htm