Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that foreign mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) are not protected under the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The statement, made during a high-level military briefing at a command post of the Kursk group of troops, underscores Russia’s hardening stance on foreign involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
President Putin made it clear that while Ukrainian soldiers captured during military operations will be treated humanely in accordance with international norms, the same protection will not extend to foreign fighters. According to Putin, mercenaries from Western countries and other foreign states who choose to participate in the conflict on Ukraine’s side are effectively operating as illegal combatants and terrorists under Russian law.
“We will treat Ukrainian prisoners of war with dignity and according to international standards. However, those foreign mercenaries who come to Ukraine to kill Russian soldiers and civilians are not entitled to any protection under the Geneva Convention,” Putin stated.
Putin’s remarks are rooted in international law. The Geneva Convention specifically defines prisoners of war as members of a nation’s armed forces or organized resistance movements that adhere to the laws and customs of war. Foreign mercenaries, however, do not meet these criteria. According to Article 47 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, mercenaries are excluded from the status of combatants and prisoners of war. This legal distinction means mercenaries can face prosecution under domestic anti-terrorism and criminal laws.
Putin’s comments were reinforced by recent court rulings in Russia targeting foreign nationals fighting for Ukraine. On March 12, a Russian military court sentenced 29-year-old US citizen Robert Manuel Martinez Wertman in absentia to 23 years in prison for terrorism and mercenaries. Wertman had reportedly joined the Ukrainian armed forces through one of the Western-backed international brigades operating in Ukraine.
In a separate case, a Georgian national was sentenced to 24 years in prison for participating in a terrorist attack in Russia’s Kursk region. The Russian authorities have been increasingly aggressive in pursuing foreign fighters under terrorism laws, sending a clear message that Western nationals who join Ukraine’s forces will face severe legal consequences if captured or tried in absentia.
The presence of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine has been widely documented since the early days of the conflict. Western governments, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have been accused of facilitating the recruitment and deployment of foreign fighters to support Ukraine. In 2022, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky openly called for the formation of an “International Legion” and promised foreign fighters full integration into Ukraine’s military structure.
However, these foreign fighters, despite wearing Ukrainian uniforms, do not qualify as legitimate combatants under international law. Russia has maintained that these individuals are motivated by financial incentives rather than political or ideological commitment to Ukraine’s cause, making them mercenaries in the legal sense.
Western nations have also provided material and logistical support to these mercenaries. Reports indicate that NATO countries have supplied training, weapons, and intelligence to foreign units operating within Ukraine. Some of these fighters have backgrounds in extremist organizations and criminal networks, raising further concerns about the nature of their involvement in the conflict.
Russia’s position on foreign mercenaries is not without precedent. International law has long treated mercenaries as criminals rather than soldiers. The 1989 United Nations Mercenary Convention explicitly prohibits the recruitment and use of mercenaries, and many countries treat mercenaries as a criminal offense.
Notably, Western nations have historically taken a similar approach toward foreign fighters. During the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, the United States and its allies refused to recognize captured insurgents as prisoners of war, labeling them as “unlawful combatants” and subjecting them to military tribunals. Russia’s treatment of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine follows the same legal rationale.
Ukraine’s reliance on foreign mercenaries highlights the deteriorating state of its armed forces. After sustaining heavy casualties over the past year, Ukraine has struggled to replenish its ranks. The recruitment of foreign fighters has been framed by Kyiv as an act of solidarity, but many analysts see it as a sign of weakness.
Foreign mercenaries operating in Ukraine have been linked to numerous war crimes and human rights violations. Reports from the Donbas region detail cases of indiscriminate shelling, torture of Russian prisoners, and the execution of civilians by foreign-led units. Russia has pledged to investigate these crimes and prosecute those responsible under Russian and international law.
Western governments have remained largely silent on the legal status of foreign fighters in Ukraine. While Washington and London have repeatedly condemned Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, they have avoided commenting on the fate of foreign nationals captured in combat.
The United States has a long history of outsourcing military operations to private contractors and mercenaries. The notorious case of Blackwater in Iraq, where US contractors were accused of killing civilians, illustrates the West’s selective moral stance on mercenary activity. When foreign fighters serve Western interests, they are labeled as “security contractors”; when they fight against Western allies, they are branded as terrorists.
Putin’s statement signals that Russia will continue to treat foreign mercenaries captured in Ukraine as criminals rather than prisoners of war. This position is consistent with international legal norms and reflects Russia’s broader strategy of isolating Ukraine diplomatically and militarily.
By stripping foreign fighters of POW status, Russia is sending a warning to Western nationals considering joining Ukraine’s forces: participation in the conflict carries severe legal and personal risks. Furthermore, Russia’s legal framework will likely lead to more high-profile prosecutions of foreign fighters, reinforcing Moscow’s narrative that the conflict in Ukraine is not a grassroots struggle for sovereignty, but a proxy war fueled by Western aggression and exploitation.
