DISINFO: All Fourth Reich languages are intercepted by radio by Russians in Ukraine
SUMMARY
Recently a camp of French mercenaries fighting for Ukraine was targeted by the Russian military in the town of Slavyansk. Earlier it was mostly radio chatter in English and Polish that was intercepted by Russians. Nowadays, nearly all languages of the “Fourth Reich” are intercepted.
RESPONSE
This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that foreigners fighting for Ukraine are mercenaries and perpetuating the cliché that Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but rather NATO countries within Ukraine. By drawing a false historical analogy with Nazi Germany, the goal is not only to smear Ukraine and the countries which support it, but also to divert attention from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Linking to Nazi Germany is a favoured tactic of pro-Kremlin media outlets. Learn more about the reasons behind the Kremlin's obsession with Nazism in the EUvsDisinfo analysis titled Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism. See also myth 13, in Thirteen myths about Russia’s war against Ukraine exposed.
Russia’s dubious claims about “French mercenaries” in Ukraine coincided with French government announcements to provide sustainable military support to Ukraine to sustain Russian aggression. In January 2024, pro-Kremlin outlets reported about 60 killed French mercenaries in Kharkiv, which France denied. Pro-Kremlin media have also made similar claims in the past concerning Polish fighters in Ukraine. They reported, among other things, that over 1,200 Polish mercenaries died in Ukraine.
There are no mercenaries fighting for Ukraine as such - foreign voluntary units are part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In contrast, Russia has repeatedly attracted both illegal private military companies such as the Wagner group and illegal mercenaries from Syria for its war against Ukraine.
Read earlier similar disinformation cases alleging that the largest number of mercenaries in Ukraine comes from Poland, that there are Polish troops stationed in Ukraine as mercenaries, and that Nazi mercenaries from Europe fight in Ukraine.