KUALA LUMPUR – Police have yet to detect the involvement of Malaysians who joined Russia as mercenaries in its nearly two-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said Bukit Aman’s Special Branch had checked with intelligence in Europe and did not receive such information.
“No information on Malaysians being hired as mercenaries in any of the countries as reported in the media. If found guilty, their passports would be revoked.”
However, he said in a statement that police would not compromise with any Malaysians becoming mercenaries and terrorists in other countries.
The top cop added that action could be taken against those involved in terrorism activities as outlined in the Special Measures against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Act 2015.
The Ukraine National Resistance Centre had said mercenaries from Malaysia, accompanied by a translator, as well as a former member of private military firm Wagner were spotted in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
It added that the fighters were currently at a training ground.
Apart from Malaysians, mercenaries from Cuba, Nepal, Belarus, Serbia and other countries have also been repeatedly seen fighting alongside the Russian armed forces.
The centre was created by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces for the purpose of training, coordinating and scaling movements against the occupation.
The eastern Donetsk region has seen some of the worst fighting for the last two years. Russia claimed to have annexed the territory as well as three frontline Ukrainian regions late in 2022. – January 25, 2024