Military Commander Says Issue of Indonesian Mercenaries for Ukraine a Hoax

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Agus Subiyanto brushed off the issue of ten Indonesian citizens becoming mercenaries for Ukraine and fighting against Russia.

“We have checked with the Russian Embassy, and there is no such [merceneries]. It is a hoax,” Agus said when met after a meeting with Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR), at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on March 21, as reported by Antara.

Agus claimed the information was false because Indonesia does not recognize the concept of mercenaries. “Our soldiers are volunteers or conscripts who are recruited through recruitment in regions,” he said.

Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak also confirmed that it was impossible for 10 Indonesian citizens who were military soldiers to become Ukrainian mercenaries.

“It is impossible for us [military soldiers to be such mercenaries]. We can easily be found when we return home, let alone when we go there (Ukraine),” Maruli said today, March 21, after the meeting with the House Commission I.

Maruli also said that the information about 10 Indonesians being Ukrainian mercenaries could not be proven as it was issued by the Russian Defense Ministry.

ANTARA

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