MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. The Russian Investigative Committee has brought charges against over 1,000 foreign mercenaries, while 955 individuals currently have warrants out for their arrests, the body's spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said at the International Security Forum.

"Based on evidence gathered on 1,086 mercenaries, investigators from the agency have issued decisions to charge them, and 955 have been placed on an international wanted list. A total of 221 foreign mercenaries have been convicted in criminal cases that have already been investigated," she said.

According to Petrenko, the agency has received information indicating that mercenaries are being recruited through Ukraine’s diplomatic missions abroad. "This constitutes a gross violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, under which propaganda and recruitment activities do not qualify as legitimate functions of diplomatic missions. According to testimony from detained mercenaries, they contacted Ukrainian embassies in their respective countries, where they were interviewed, instructed, and provided with the necessary contacts. They typically traveled to Ukraine via Poland," Petrenko added.