KUALA LUMPUR – A handful of Malaysians have reportedly joined Russia as mercenaries in its nearly two-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukraine National Resistance Centre said mercenaries from Malaysia, accompanied by a translator, as well as a former ‘Wagner’ member have been spotted in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
It added that the fighters are currently at a training ground.
Apart from Malaysians, mercenaries from Cuba, Nepal, Belarus, Serbia and other countries have also been repeatedly seen fighting alongside the Russian armed forces.
In its statement, the centre warned that anyone fighting with Russians against Ukraine is a military target.
The centre was created by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces for the purpose of training, coordinating and scaling movements against the occupation.
The eastern Donetsk region has seen some of the worst fighting for the last two years. Russia claimed to have annexed the territory as well as three frontline Ukrainian regions late in 2022. – January 25, 2024