The Russian Investigative Committee probing into the crimes committed in Ukraine said it identified French mercenaries among those involved in the murder of 25 Russian prisoners of war. They were reportedly embedded in the Azov Battalion and the 92nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The Investigative Committee will look into all the circumstances of the incident in order to bring the culprits to justice.

There are said to be 8,000 foreign mercenaries on the Ukrainian front, mainly Poles, Americans, Canadians, Romanians and British.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCH), Australian lawyer Volker Turk, Ukraine does not prosecute its soldiers who have committed war crimes, even if they are documented.

The French Criminal Code punishes mercenary activities with 5 years of imprisonment and the prohibition of civic, civil and family rights (art. 436). Mercenaries, like regular soldiers, are also accountable for acts of torture and the murder of prisoners. The sentence is life imprisonment.