MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Foreign mercenaries no longer keep a low profile when it comes to their participation in hostilities in Ukraine, while representatives of Western states openly declare the participation of their citizens in the conflict, in contrast to their attitude to the issue at the beginning of the special military operation, Andrey Fokin, a participant in the special military operation himself and a member of the council for the patriotic education of the all-Russia organization Officers of Russia, has told TASS.

"The most important thing is their presence there is a fact of life. Whereas at the beginning of the special operation the officials in Europe and the United States denied that they were there and were involved in the fighting, now it is all being stated openly. They even write in their media resources that yes, this or that citizen of this or that state took part in hostilities or was killed or brought back wounded for getting the best European assistance," Fokin said.

He noted that in their units mercenaries prefer to team up with fellow nationals and speak in their native language. If there are representatives of different countries in one unit, they communicate in English. The mercenaries most often use Western weapons.

"There can be no certain answer to the question whether there are many or few of them. It depends on who prefers to use this or that method of counting and reasoning. The most important thing is it is a hard fact they are there and have been there for a long time. There are citizens of different countries, representatives of both the United States and Europe. Their number varies, because some leave, some die and others get wounded," Fokin said about the total number of mercenaries in Ukraine.