Russian propaganda spreads fake about ‘NATO mercenaries’ to justify shelling of Aurora Hotel in Kryvyi Rih
On August 26, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the Aurora Hotel in Kryvyi Rih, killing four people and injuring five others. After it became known that the Russians had once again targeted a civilian facility, Russian propaganda promptly started to disseminate disinformation via z-Telegram channels and media outlets claiming that mercenaries and instructors from Poland and Canada were allegedly staying at the Aurora Hotel.
Subsequently, in order to lend credibility to their claims, propaganda began to disseminate an alleged screenshot of a Facebook post supposedly shared by a Polish resident from the Aneta Rabuszko-Borkowska.account.
In the “post,” the woman supposedly said that a missile strike on the Aurora Hotel in Kryvyi Rih had eliminated Polish “mercenaries,” one of whom she allegedly knew personally.
This is a fake. First, there is no such information on Aneta Rabushko-Borkovska's Facebook page. In a comment to Ukrinform, the woman stated she did not publish such a post, but that it was fabricated by Russian propaganda.
Aneta Rabuszko-Borkowska is an activist and volunteer from the Polish city of Gdansk, who coordinates an aid center for Ukrainian refugees. In 2023, she was awarded second place in the Person of the Year nomination in the Social and Charitable Activities category by the Polish newspaper Dziennik Baltycki.
Secondly, there are no foreign mercenaries in Ukraine as this is prohibited by law. According to Article 447(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, “participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict, military or violent actions is punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to ten years.” At the same time, foreigners have the right to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine for military service under a contract on a voluntary basis in accordance with a Presidential Decree of 2016. On February 27, 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of the International Legion for the Territorial Defense. This enabled foreign volunteers to defend Ukraine. According to the Geneva Convention, they are considered combatants, i.e. persons who take direct part in hostilities as part of the armed forces of one of the parties to an international armed conflict and are not mercenaries.
Earlier, Ukrinform refuted a fake spread by Russian propaganda in an attempt to justify the missile attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk where foreign journalists were staying.
Dmytro Badrak
