The Portuguese government contacted the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reported that seven nationals had been deported to Ukraine as “volunteer fighters”. And he added, “There is no record of death.” This is the reaction of Joa Gomez Gravinho’s office The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that Putin’s troops had been shot dead “19 mercenaries“Portuguese since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The Portuguese MNE, considering the situation in the country, insists that “any kind of travel to Ukraine should be avoided”. Citizens who, for whatever reason, still need to do so, should “signal a trip to the embassy emergency office”.
Vladimir Putin’s government says 103 Portuguese soldiers have arrived, 16 of whom have already returned, in addition to the 19 deaths recorded since the beginning of the invasion. 68 players will operate from Portugal.
Among European countries, Poland is “undeniably the undisputed leader in the number of mercenaries on arrival and death,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Since the beginning of the war, “1831 poles have arrived in Ukraine, of which 378 have already been killed and 272 have returned home”. Romania follows with “504 arrivals, 102 deaths and 98 departures”. The UK is in third place: “422 arrivals, 101 deaths, 95 departures”.
On the North American continent, Canada leads: 601 visits, 162 deaths, 169 departures. America is in second place: 530 visits, 214 deaths, 227 departures.
The largest number of “355 mercenaries” came from the Middle East and Asia, 120 of whom died and 90 left Ukraine. Then there are 200 militants from US-controlled areas in Syria. To date, 80 have been “eliminated” and 66 have left Ukraine.
In all, Moscow’s lists include “mercenaries and weapons experts from 64 countries.”
Since Moscow began doing the math and calling it a “special military operation,” 6956 foreigners have come to Ukraine, 1956 have been killed and 1779 have already returned.
Death numbers “Internal campaign”
Pavlo Sadoka, president of the main Ukrainian association in Portugal, says he has no data on the deaths of Portuguese in the war. But he now believes the figures presented by the Russian Defense Ministry are nothing more than propaganda and counter-information aimed at domestic public opinion.
“Foreigners are fighting Russia and they are telling the Russian people that they are the victims of these attacks,” he said. This does not mean that the Russians are attacking Ukraine.
However, he already has a different opinion about the about a hundred Portuguese who Moscow guarantees to join Volodymyr Zhelensky’s troops. “There will be a large number of Portuguese or Ukrainian nationals who have contacted us to ask for information on how to join our troops,” says Pavlo Sadoka.
The association says all of these cases were sent to the Ukrainian embassy in Lisbon.
