Mercenaries go into battle, and the battlefield becomes an "outsourcing company"? The Russian army captured 92 American combatants in one fell swoop, and the Ukrainian front line suddenly became lively.
But is this really an accident, or is there another mystery? Why are thousands of American veterans flocking in? Why is the US military always afraid to participate publicly? The undercurrent of this war is fiercer than the surface.
Who killed 92 Russians this time?
September 7, 2025The New York Times released news saying that At least 92 Americans killed in war in Ukraine, the location is clearly an area controlled by the Ukrainian army.
The news came out, shaking the US-European political world, but caused the Russian side to laugh coldly. Currently, about 20,000 foreign mercenaries are still active in the Ukrainian army.“Most of them are Americans.”
The Russian TASS.According to sources quoted by security agencies, these mercenaries are complex in composition and can be roughly divided into three categories: One is the unrealistic war experience; the second is the older veterans; the third is the old American soldier who wants to "restart his military career" due to health retirement.。
The U.S. side, on the other hand, continues to maintain a vague calibre, only acknowledging that “a minority of citizens voluntarily joined the war.” Never revealed specific numbers.But though CNN earlier this year that more than 20 US mercenaries have disappeared in the past six months.。
Russian President PutinThen in September 5 in VladivostokA clear statement: Any foreign army appearing in Ukraine is a “legitimate target”Not only did this set the legal characteristics of the 92 dead, but it also sent a deterrent signal to all the “undead mercenaries” – don’t go again, don’t want to go.
This wave of attacks by Russia is not temporary. As early as multiple battlefields, the Russian army has repeatedly practiced the coordinated model of "clean-up + suppression + outsourced killing": First discovered with drones, then covered with artillery, and finally sent the infantry to clear the field.。
These mercenaries did not die under the first cannon, but in the after-war "safe-thought" shelter.
But don’t worry, 92 people are just the “beginning of the list.” History Museum of the Second WarAt the same time, it was revealed that at least "thousands of Americans" are currently serving in the Ukrainian army, and there are also exhibitions dedicated to establishing memorial spaces for these foreign soldiers.
So one question emerged: the American voices "do not directly participate in the war", but this is a bunch of American deaths, who arranged? the Western countries use mercenaries "shell" to fight, both want to avoid positive conflict, and to interfere with the situation, but the Russian side obviously does not buy the bill. The “outsourcing war” plays to Ukraine, the Russian military is naturally unfriendly.。
Can these "American veterans" really fight? Or is a bastard in power?
These foreign mercenaries fighting under the name of the "Ukrainian International Legion" are not a regular army, but they actually perform front-line tasks.
This legion will be established since the end of February 2022, initiated by Ukrainian President Zelensky himself, with the goal of recruiting global volunteers to participate in the war. Within a few days, a long queue formed in front of the Ukrainian Embassy, and applicants from Europe and America poured into it.
But it seems to be huge, and the real issue is serious. According to the British "Royal Army Joint Institute" study, the members of the regiment make up a mixture: there are both veterans with real war experience, but also "war hunters" seeking stimulation.And even there. In their own country, speculators who "do not get messed up" and hype their own social accounts for war。
Larsson, an American veteran who fought in Kharkov in 2022.Frankly speaking, after only three months of service, he witnessed a large number of recruits "can't even fire guns". What's even more outrageous is that some people can't even figure out the direction of the position and only rely on GPS to survive. In more extreme cases, Members of the American "International Legion" fled directly to RussiaThis creates a huge security crisis.
The majority of the "international troops" are sent to areas with heavy fire force and frequent exchanges of fire, which are completely "front consumption goods". no logistics guarantee, no air support, no withdrawal passage. Once involved in the Russian military fire zone, this group of troops is almost "equivalent to the death penalty."
What do these people do to fight? Relying on the experience of the US military? But reality is another slap in the face。
On August 25, 2025, retired U.S. Army colonel Daniel Davis wrote that the U.S. military's operational concept is seriously lagging behind the modern drone-dominated battlefield.The Ukrainian battlefield has completely changed the iron law of “who controls the chain of fire, who dominates the situation”, and the American “dissuasion – strike – advance” three-paragraph theory has now become a joke.
The top officials of the Ukrainian army were also impolite. Openly criticized the US military's new edition of the "Tanks" manual "from reality"Davis pointed out that the U.S. military wanted to talk about the military over the paper, and feared that it would be completely eaten in the future war. In the era of drones, it wanted to solve the problem with deterrence, and take a rifle against tanks a reason — Courage is courage, not wearing it.。
So the performance of American mercenaries in Ukraine is no longer “uneven” four words can describe. They are both a living fossil of American tactics and the most easily hit “floating mark” on the battlefield. Proof of Tactical Obsolescence。
In a war with out-of-control rules, what are the United States and Russia fighting for?
War has never been more than a game of guns, but also a game of rules.The issue of foreign mercenaries in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has long been not only a "soldat source" issue, but both sides are concerned. Different understanding of the legitimacy of war and the boundaries of operations。
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova has warned that any foreign participant in Ukrainian military operations, regardless of the flag name, is considered by Russia as a hostile force and falls within the "legitimate range of attack."。 Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, on the other hand, directly pointed out that the West “delivered regular troops to Ukraine under the guise of mercenaries.”In fact, it is a real party to the conflict.
In the face of Russian characteristics, the U.S. military did not respond directly. On September 10, 2025, the U.S. Army officially announced the "U.S. drone scale deployment plan".Disclosure will be Equip each combat division with about 1,000 drones by the end of 2026, and defined it as "consumable ammunition", authorized the camp commanders to call directly. Tactics are packed and decentralized, and operational boundaries are completely blurred。
More importantly, this new mechanism has been tested in simulated confrontations, and the results are striking: The target strike cycle is shortened by more than 70%, breaking the traditional "multi-level approval" chain of command, which means In the future, the U.S. military is likely to carry out “invisible intervention” through unmanned systems.。
This is exactly with China Military Strategic StudiesAccording to the release of the Liberation Army newspaper on September 10, 2025, "the future war will not be more than the total amount of firepower, but rather than the information advantages, energy configuration and response speed."
But questions also follow: Drones take the lead and mercenaries hit the ground. Are rules still called rules? When the war evolved into a gray melee of technology platform + outsourced labor services, legality judgment, rules of engagement, and state responsibility all became "explainable items."
The Russian side obviously doesn't play the explanation trick. Putin's logic is simple- Your people appear on the battlefield, it is not a tourist, it is the enemy.So to beat 92 people, not suddenly, is tactical completion; the remaining "thousands", not suspension, is the next goal.
The reference information:
The Russian military finally caught the big fish, killing 92 American mercenaries: hundreds of other big fish are under siege.
Retired army lieutenant colonel wrote the sharpest summary of the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. The lagging tactical concept of the US military may be harvested by future wars. Sina Finance.2025-08-29
The U.S. Army accelerates the scale deployment of drones.China National Defense News. September 10, 2025
New Changes in the Ways to Win Intelligent War. - Liberation Army News.2025-09-10
Where will the "Ukrainian International Legion" go? China Youth Daily.2024-05-23