Original title: After the Russian missile hit the largest military base in Ukraine, the Foreign Legion ran away
[文/观察者网 阮佳琪]
Russian and Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russian airstrikes on the 13th of a large military base in the Lviv state of western Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the strike eliminated as many as 180 foreign mercenaries, but Ukraine denied it, saying that it had not confirmed that there were foreigners among the dead, and it was “pure Russian propaganda.”
However, in the following period, more and more foreign mercenaries in Ukraine admitted that they had suffered heavy casualties in the air strike and had fled to Poland and other countries. According to Russian satellite news reporter Wyatt Reed on the 14th, former Brazilian soldier Thiago Rossi said that his troops were basically wiped out near the base, and he and the remaining survivors took a bus to Poland; Brazil’s “UOL” website said that another former Brazilian Army soldier Soldier Leanderson Paulino happened to avoid an air raid on a mission in Kyiv, but he lost a lot of his comrades. “It’s a war, don’t think it’s Disney anymore.”
Thiago Rossi also revealed in the video that the base has mercenaries from France, South Korea, Chile, the United States, Canada and European countries. When the airstrike occurred, French mercenary Sciacca Mickael was directly scared out of tears in the live video, and then fled from Poland to Sweden in less than 27 hours.
Screenshot from Sciacca Mickael live video
According to comprehensive foreign media reports, the Russian army airstrikes the Yavoriv military base in the Lviv region of western Ukraine on the 13th. The base, which is close to the border of NATO member Poland, covers an area of 360 square kilometers and is the largest military base in western Ukraine. It is often used by Ukraine to hold joint military exercises with Western countries, and has stationed NATO military instructors.
Ukrainian troops were trained at the base in the weeks before Russia launched a “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24. According to Ukrainian media reports, in mid-February, all foreign military trainers from the base were withdrawn, but some equipment was left behind. Reuters quoted a NATO official as saying that there are currently no NATO personnel in Ukraine, but it was not clear whether representatives of non-NATO countries were there at the time of the attack.
Russia and Ukraine have some differences in the results of the air strike: the Russian Ministry of Defense announced later on March 13 that the Russian army used long-range high-precision weapons to kill nearly 180 foreign mercenaries and destroyed a large number of weapons provided by foreign countries. The Russian army “will continue to annihilate the foreign mercenaries who have arrived in Ukraine one after another”; but Ukraine said that due to the role of the air defense system, most of the Russian missiles were shot down, and the air strikes killed at least 35 people and injured 134 others. It said foreign military instructors were working at the base during the airstrike, but did not confirm any foreigners were among the victims.
However, in the following period, more and more foreign mercenaries in Ukraine admitted that they had suffered heavy casualties in the air strike and had fled to Poland and other countries.
According to Russian satellite correspondent Wyatt Reed on the 14th, Thiago Rossi, a former Brazilian soldier who participated in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, said that his unit was almost wiped out near the airstrike base, and he and the remaining survivors took a bus to Poland.
In the video, Thiago Rossi sighed with a face full of hardship: “There are soldiers from France, all over Europe, South Korea, Chile, the United States, Canada, and even some special forces from different countries. The missile is over. Everything, the entire Ukrainian Foreign Legion was wiped out. You have no idea what that feels like. Thank goodness I escaped.”
According to Brazil’s “UOL” website, 28-year-old Thiago Rossi, from the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, is a shooting instructor who advocates military intervention. He also made a passionate statement in an interview that he would shoot all “aggressors”. , he is not afraid of war.
However, when the air raid occurred, Thiago Rossi’s first reaction was to “run”. He said in the video that when the base was first attacked at 3 a.m. on the 13th, he and his team hid in the woods. Brazilian warplanes in Ukraine confirmed Thiago Rossi was at the base, but fled after the first attack.
Thiago Rossi claimed they were instructed to “leave as soon as possible” after making contact with people outside the base when the airstrike occurred, but did not say who ordered it. When the video was filmed, he said he was on a bus bound for Poland with the remaining fighters, just before a second wave of attacks approached the border. However, Thiago Rossi revealed that he also planned to return to Lviv to help rescue Ukrainian refugees who fled.
The report also said that another former Brazilian Army soldier from the same department as Thiago Rossi, Leanderson Paulino, 27, from the state of Pernambuco, left the base a few hours early to avoid the airstrike due to his mission in Kyiv, but he lost With many comrades in arms, he wanted to send a message to Brazilian citizens planning to join the Ukrainian army: “This is a war, stop thinking it’s Disney.”
Leanderson Paulino also said they had captured a Russian spy at the base before the strike, “and they were pretty much everywhere.”
When the air strike occurred, French mercenary Sciacca Mickael even cried out in the live video, “The base here has just been destroyed, and among the dead are my friends, I need to cheer up, we have to escape from there.”
According to the real-time synchronization of Sciacca Mickael on social media, after the air strike, he and several comrades fled all the way. It took less than 27 hours to escape from Poland to Sweden, and even the expression during the live broadcast changed from ” Dignified” became “happy”.
The first on the right is Sciacca Mickael’s happiness visible to the naked eye
Arrive at Warsaw Airport, Poland at 6:00 am on the 14th
Arrive in Sweden at 15:00 on the 14th
Sciacca Mickael responded quickly when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the formation of an “international army” to defend Ukraine, according to a previous report by the French newspaper midilibre. But the 40-year-old uncle has no combat experience at all except for serving for half a year 20 years ago.
According to the report, he was very “confident” at the time that he knew how to use weapons and was very confident in his ability to adapt to the environment. “I’m ready to fight and I want to help the people there, to save as many women and children as possible, to help them take refuge across the border. If someone attacks me, I’m ready to fight back.”
Last Wednesday (9th), Sciacca Mickael set out with two other 22-year-old French men he met online, who also only served in the military. The three went to a service station in Poland, joined a fourth Frenchman who had signed up as a member of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, and then entered Ukraine.
As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict enters its third week, foreign weapons and foreign volunteers are joining the Ukrainian government army to prevent the Russian army from advancing. Kyiv said 20,000 foreigners had joined Ukraine’s “international corps”, whose website had nearly 13 million visits within 24 hours of its establishment.
According to the Russian media “Russia Today” (RT) on the 14th, Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, issued a warning to foreign mercenaries in Ukraine that day, saying that Russia “knows everything in Ukraine. The location of foreign mercenaries”, “I would like to warn you again – (the Russian side) will not have any kindness towards mercenaries, no matter where they are in Ukrainian territory.”
Konashenkov also claimed that some Western governments encouraged their citizens to fight Russian troops as mercenaries, adding that “all more responsibility for the death of such foreign citizens in Ukraine lies entirely with the leadership of these countries. “Targeted strikes will continue,” Konashenkov said.