All foreigners fighting in ranks of AFU subject to legal status of combatants - MFA

All foreign citizens and stateless persons participating in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have the legal status of combatants in accordance with the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War and the right to be treated as prisoners of war if they fell into the hands of the enemy.

"All foreign citizens and stateless persons taking part in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were voluntarily accepted into military service under a contract in accordance with the Law of Ukraine On military duty and military service of 1992. The persons concerned are military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who, according to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, are subject to the legal status of combatants," the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on Thursday.

"This status, among other things, gives such persons the right to be treated as prisoners of war if they fall into the hands of the enemy. Let's recall that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 prohibit any illegal acts, including violence, intimidation or inaction against prisoners of war, and oblige to treat captive servicemen humanely. Failure to comply with the relevant norms of international humanitarian law is a serious violation of the Convention," the Foreign Ministry said.