2024-09-07
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on august 16, a private american mercenary group called the "frontline observers" posted a group photo of soldiers on their social media accounts and located kursk, which attracted great attention from all over the world.“will the united states personally join the war?”speculations and doubts arose.
what is the origin of the "front observer group"? why did it appear on the kursk battlefield?did mercenaries from the united states and other nato countries participate in the war on russian territory?
1
on august 22, according to a report by the russian military media redovka, the russian army killed about 60 ukrainian military personnel in a battle in the village of konopelka in the kursk region.among them were american mercenaries from the "frontline observer group".
just a few days ago, on august 16, the american private military company "frontline observer group" named by the russian side,a photo was posted on the social platform with the caption "friends from kursk".in the photo, three military personnel are wearing blue armbands, which are mostly used by the ukrainian regular army.
current affairs commentator liu zijun:
"they were wearing ukrainian military uniforms, not regular military uniforms, and they were likely to be gathering intelligence in the area and conducting relevant battlefield assessments."
the person in the center of the photo is derek bales, the founder of the frontline watch group.he served in the u.s. army's 173rd airborne brigade and participated in the war in afghanistan.
he officially registered the "front observers group" in nevada on october 15, 2020. its abbreviation is fog, which means "fog".
derek bales once showed a group photo taken in ukraine, in which he was holding a weapon and wearing a military uniform. one of the members in the photo wasneo-nazi vadim lapayev, who served in the ukrainian ultra-nationalist azov battalion.
ma fengshu, director of the center for russian and central asian studies at shandong university:
"the 'frontline observer group' is primarily for the ukrainian armyprovide military training, intelligence gathering, weapons and equipment, tactical guidance, etc.”
2
the "front observer group" also entered ukraine many times before the ukrainian army raided kursk.the then russian defense minister sergei shoigu said at an expanded meeting of the russian ministry of defense that in mid-to-early december 2021, members of the "front observer group" assisted the ukrainian military in transporting a batch of 200-liter metal barrels with foreign words on them to the donetsk region. during the unloading process, four ukrainian soldiers were burned or poisoned by the dangerous chemicals in them.
according to russian media reports, the private military company "front observation group" that participated in the battle of kursk has extensive connections.the company has absorbed elite members of the us military and is able to attract various resources, so it is favored by the ukrainian military.
there are also reports that since march 2022, the "front line observer group" has entered ukraine from the polish side many times to train soldiers for the ukrainian armed forces.
the "frontline observers" also posted photos on social media when they were on missions in other places. on november 1, 2023, the "frontline observers" posted photos on social media, with the location marked as tel aviv, israel.the content is a photo of a us delta force equipment bag being opened.
coincidentally, on the same day, the new york times revealed that christopher meier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations of the us military, claimed that he had sent "special forces" to israel.in addition, the united states also sent a small number of experts from "other departments" to israel.
3
on august 26, abc released a video in which an american veteran talked about his experience participating in the ukrainian army's attack on kursk.
american mercenaries:
"we went to kursk to assist the ukrainian army in the battle.we were asked to enter the kursk invasion zone, to assist with the sniper operation they are doing, but it is a chaotic situation right now.”
the mercenary also revealed that the ukrainian army's operations in kursk were chaotic and its manpower was stretched to the limit, making it difficult to preserve the results of the battle.
according to russian sources, among the foreign mercenaries who invaded kursk oblast,there are small numbers of georgians, french, and americans who are hiding in remote locations and will not engage in combat.
according to a report on the website of the russian weekly argumenty i fakty, the ukrainian military command claimed that:he simply led the mercenaries to kursk oblast for "training" and promised them that they would evacuate after completing the selfie mission.
at the same time, ukrainian prisoners of war also revealed that western instructors played a key role in planning the military operation against kursk oblast. the soldiers who were temporarily conscripted were only notified a few hours before the attack.the destination and reason for the mission were unknown. the reason was to "deter" the russian army, and they were told that it was an "unusual patrol mission."
on august 19, the russian satellite news agency reported that russian foreign minister lavrov said:"if it weren't for the instigation of the united states, zelensky would not have decided to invade kursk oblast."but the next day, the united states denied that its military forces were involved in the ukrainian military's raid on kursk oblast.
4
according to data released by the russian ministry of defense on september 1, during combat operations in the kursk direction,the ukrainian army lost at least 8,500 people and 80 tanks in total.
russia reacted harshly to the presence of foreign mercenaries in kursk oblast. on august 20, the russian foreign ministry summoned us charge d'affaires in russia, holmes, and said:all foreign "experts" and mercenaries who illegally cross the border automatically become legitimate military targets of the russian armed forces.
current affairs commentator liu zijun:
"mercenaries have entered russia.if you are not a prisoner of war, you cannot enjoy the treatment of a prisoner of war.if they were wearing civilian uniforms, they could be executed on the spot as spies."
the governor of kherson oblast even said on september 5 that there are more mercenaries in the ukrainian army than ukrainians. in addition to american mercenaries joining the russian-ukrainian battlefield,russia said that mercenaries from several nato member states also appeared in kursk.
5
on september 2, students in kursk oblast, russia, welcomed the first day of school. in order to prevent the ukrainian army from invading russian territory, local schools have been equipped with air-raid shelters. on the same day, russian president vladimir putin also talked about the ukrainian army's invasion of kursk while attending an open class.
russian president vladimir putin:
“the state and our armed forces will do our utmost to restore normalcy to these areas and these children.”
on august 6, the ukrainian army launched a lightning offensive towards the kursk region on the russian border, advancing straight into the region and confronting the russian army to this day. on august 29, russian officials said,the identities of more than 4,000 mercenaries fighting for ukraine have been confirmed.
current affairs commentator liu zijun:
"by the end of the war, the manpower supply was extremely tight, and both sides used mercenaries.the main goals are military operations and the maintenance of military equipment and intelligence gathering.”
with the establishment of modern private military companies, "mercenaries" have gradually become an industry.american private military companies have recruited many retired personnel and trained them according to the military model.
the largest private military company in the united states, military resource consultants, was jointly established by eight retired senior military officers.the company's headquarters is close to the us military's pentagon, making it convenient for direct contact with the military.according to russian media reports, the us "frontline observer group" company has also absorbed many us military elites, including army rangers, navy seals, etc.
ma fengshu, director of the center for russian and central asian studies at shandong university:
"private military companies are responsible for carrying out tasks that are inconvenient for the military to complete.private military companies and the u.s. military are interdependent and can be said to be the shadow forces of the u.s. government.”
6
in response to the entry of american mercenaries into russian territory, russian deputy foreign minister ryabkov bluntly stated on september 2 that this was unacceptable.
ma fengshu, director of the center for russian and central asian studies at shandong university:
"russia's disclosure of this incident is a stern warning to the united states and western countries, indicating that it is reasonable and legal to crack down on illegal invaders."
ukraine has been openly recruiting volunteers since the outbreak of the russian-ukrainian war. the ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said,more than 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries have joined the ukrainian volunteer army.russia regards these people as mercenaries.
according to russian media reports, among the foreign mercenaries who entered kursk oblast, the largest number was from poland, with about 30 people. in a video released by the russian federal security service, a captured ukrainian soldier described the details of the battlefield.
captured ukrainian soldier ruslan:
“after crossing the border, i heard people speaking polish and french on the intercom, and some people talking in english.”
7
according to data from the russian ministry of defense, as of march this year, poland, the united states and georgia were the main sources of mercenaries for ukraine.poland ranks first.of the 13,387 mercenaries who arrived in ukraine, 2,960 were from poland.the united states followed closely behind, with 1,113 mercenaries rushing to the battlefield to assist the ukrainian army.
current affairs commentator liu zijun:
"the soviet union occupied part of poland's territory. in this situation, they had this kind of sentiment, and they were mortal enemies with russia. the two nations were incompatible. joining them was purelyfor nationalism。”
data shows that georgia, which ranks third, has also had 1,042 mercenaries participating in the war against russia since the start of the russian-ukrainian war. among them, the georgian legion is an auxiliary force of the ukrainian ministry of defense's main intelligence directorate and has appeared many times in the russian-ukrainian war. russian media reported that georgian mercenaries also participated in the attack on kursk oblast.
georgian volunteer army koba kabaz:
“i decided to take part in all this because our support is important for ukraine.”
also,there is also no shortage of mercenaries from nato member states on the ukrainian battlefield.there were 822 mercenaries from britain and 356 from france.
8
in addition to sending mercenaries, nato has also been assisting the ukrainian army in many ways, including weapons and equipment. russian media said:military advisers from nato countries provided guidance to the ukrainian army's attack on kursk and provided satellite reconnaissance intelligence to ukraine.neither nato nor ukraine responded.
on august 31, ukraine sent a high-level delegation to the united states to lobby the united states and other countries to allow kiev to use long-range weapons provided by the west to strike military targets deep inside russian territory. however, a pentagon spokesman responded that the united states currently has no plans to lift the relevant restrictions. russian foreign minister lavrov bluntly stated,ukraine attempts to launch a large-scale war and get the united states and other nato countries to intervene and fight on its behalf.
according to the russian side, the battle of kursk was the first time that mercenaries from western countries set foot on russian territory. russian foreign ministry spokeswoman zakharova said that the activities of foreign military equipment and mercenaries on russian territory areproves the direct involvement of the kiev regime’s western “allies” and sponsors in ukraine’s actions.
current affairs commentator liu zijun:
"if mercenaries from nato members, including the united states, enter the kursk region, it would be an invasion for russia. this would not be a war between russia and ukraine.it became a war between nato and russia.”
producer: zhong jinmei
director: yue mengying, zhou zhenghao, li siyuan
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