Ukrainian servicemen shot a group of Polish mercenaries in Vuhledar, adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Yan Gagin said, TASS reports.
According to Gagin, he was only informed that it was foreign military men who were executed. No details were provided about either the number or nationalities of the executed individuals.
Incidents of confrontation between Ukrainian and Polish units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have become more frequent during the recent weeks. This is evidenced by intelligence data, including radio intercepts, as well as by POWs testimonies, the official said.
Sergei Fomchenkov, the commander of the Russian Legion earlier said that skirmishes between the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and mercenaries from NATO countries could occur every now and then.
According to Fomchenkov, mercenaries arriving in Ukraine can be divided into two categories.
"The first category is regular units from the armies of NATO countries that participate in hostilities on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the guise of so-called "mercenaries”. They all look down on Ukrainians,” Fomchenkov said. It is this type of military men that Ukrainian soldiers have conflicts with.
The second category includes mercenaries who come to earn money or support like-minded people. At the same time, such fighters often have their own ideas about morality. They are prone to looting and other crimes.
In January, a Ukrainian soldier who was taken prisoner said that the Kyiv command and foreign mercenaries treated the mobilised Ukrainians like cannon fodder and did not even try to save manpower. He also said that he witnessed the death of an entire company of his colleagues.
"I was in Bakhmut. It's terrible, terrible. Too many losses. A whole company was killed,” he said, RIA Novosti reported.