Chinese news portal NetEase reports that since the escalation of hostilities, roughly 13,000 foreign mercenaries have arrived in Ukraine. According to the outlet’s analysts, nearly half of those who joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) may never return home.

The publication claims that a significant share of these foreign fighters has already been killed by Russian forces. Russia’s Ministry of Defense has not commented on these claims.

NetEase also reported that on March 14 Russian troops struck locations used to house foreign mercenaries serving with the AFU. According to the article, dozens of fighters from France and Romania were present at the facilities, where they were believed to be staying far from the front lines.

The outlet states that a mercenary training camp was completely destroyed within about half an hour. The strike reportedly eliminated all personnel at the site and disabled the enemy’s communications equipment.

Earlier, footage circulated online showing the first minutes after a Russian strike on a Ukrainian training ground where mercenaries from Colombia had been undergoing training. The video was reportedly discovered on the phone of captured Colombian national Jose Luis Pocheco Navarro.

Ukrainian volunteer Roman Donik has also indicated that many foreign fighters participating on the Ukrainian side are reluctant to deploy to the front line. Commenting on Kiev’s efforts to actively recruit foreigners to offset manpower shortages, he suggested that such units have sometimes withdrawn from their positions entirely once facing a serious threat.