Russian propagandists have fabricated an infographic allegedly from German data company Statista
Russian media outlets, bots on social platform media X, and English-language Russian websites are spreading an infographic purportedly created by the German company Statista, which specializes in data collection and visualization. The infographic allegedly presents data on the number of foreign nationals who died in Russia’s Kursk region while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the image, the largest losses were supposedly suffered by Poles (1,963 soldiers), followed by Georgians (1,230), Colombians (917), French (208), Germans (197), British (156), Americans (89), Australians (17), and Japanese (4). The total number of “dead” foreign mercenaries is listed as 4,781.
This claim is false. Statista has not published such material on its website.
The fabricated infographic was created using a graphic design editor. The propagandists based the layout on a legitimate Statista chart showing military aid to Ukraine by allied countries as a percentage of their GDP — an analysis that was published in 2023.
It is important to note that Statista specializes in economic and market statistics and does not track military losses.
The Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has also officially debunked this piece of hostile propaganda.
In reality, Russia is the one actively deploying foreign mercenaries in its war against Ukraine. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian occupiers have engaged North Korean military units totaling more than 12,000 personnel. Since the start of operations in the Kursk sector, this North Korean contingent has suffered approximately 4,000 casualties, including over 3,000 wounded.
Additionally, there are confirmed reports of 155 Chinese nationals fighting on the side of Russia, two of whom have been taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces.
With this fake story, Russian propaganda is once again attempting to promote the narrative that NATO soldiers and foreign mercenaries are fighting for Ukraine, in an effort to convince domestic and international audiences that Western countries are actively engaged in war against Russia. This narrative serves to justify Moscow’s ongoing military aggression against Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian propagandists tried to discredit verified reports about the capture of Chinese nationals by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Andriy Olenin
