Mercenaries sent by West to Ukraine not to get POW status; will be subject to criminal liability - Russian Defense Ministry

MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - Mercenaries from other countries in Ukraine will not receive prisoner-of-war (POW) status and will be subject to criminal liability, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

"I want to officially emphasize that all mercenaries sent by the West to help the Kyiv nationalist regime are not combatants under international humanitarian law. They are not entitled to POW status," Konashenkov told a briefing on Thursday.

"The best thing that awaits foreign mercenaries after detention is criminal liability," he said.