JakartaPost-March 17
Moscow has alleged that 10 Indonesians are among “foreign mercenaries” who have fought for Ukraine against Russia since the latter invaded its neighbor two years ago. The Russian Foreign Ministry posted recently on social media platform X that more than 13,000 foreign mercenaries from dozens of countries had fought for Ukraine since the start of the war on Feb. 24, 2022. The list showed that mercenaries from Poland made up the highest number of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, at 2,960 individuals, followed by the United States with 1,113. It documented nearly 6,000 foreign mercenaries fighting for the side of Ukraine as having been allegedly killed in the war. According to the list, there were 10 Indonesian mercenaries in Ukraine, four of whom were said to have been among those killed. The list was also broadcast by the Russian Embassy in Jakarta through the instant messaging app Telegram on Friday, benarnews.org reported, as it began to gain national attention. The embassy was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Jakarta Post. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said the Indonesian embassies in Kyiv and Moscow had “never received any information about Indonesians involved in mercenary-related activities”. “Our diplomatic missions are still looking into the matter and asking for official information,” director for Indonesian citizen protection Judha Nugraha said on Sunday. There are 55 Indonesians currently living in Ukraine, including members of the Indonesian Embassy. Read more at:
