MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. No foreign mercenary fighting on the side of Ukraine will go unpunished, Russian investigators have identified more than 4,000 such fighters, Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy on the crimes of the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik said.

"No foreign mercenaries should leave (the Kursk Region) unpunished. Today our investigators have already identified over 4,000 [such fighters]. We have all the information about them," he said during a Rossiya-1 TV broadcast.

The diplomat added that the Russian court has already convicted several foreign mercenaries, "but, unfortunately, in absentia." According to Miroshnik, all such criminal cases must be pursued to the end.

The envoy also pointed out that such mercenaries should be "treated as terrorists" and "must be eliminated in all parts of the world."

The Ukrainian armed forces attacked Russia’s Kursk Region on August 6. Residents of border areas are being evacuated to safe territories. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, a total of 200 temporary shelters has been set up in 31 regions of the country. More than 10,000 people, including over 2,700 children, are staying in them.

According to the Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost up over 9,700 servicemen and 81 tanks since the beginning of hostilities in the Kursk area. The operation to destroy the Ukrainian armed formations continues.