BERLIN
More than 100 Germans citizens travelled to eastern Ukraine to join pro-Russian separatists and fight against the Ukrainian government forces, media reported on Sunday.
German weekly Welt am Sonntag claimed that German security forces have identified more than 100 ethnic-German Russians fighting with the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The weekly reported that most of these foreign fighters were members of the ethnic German families from Russia, who were repatriated after the World War II. Among them, some had served German armed forces in the past.
Ukraine’s Ambassador in Berlin Andrej Melnik told Welt am Sonntag that his government has recently conveyed its concern to the German authorities. Melnik said that Kiev expected Berlin to prevent German citizens travelling to eastern Ukraine and commit murders there.
Stephan Meyer, lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrat bloc (CDU/CSU) said that Germany should take necessary legal measures.
“If Germans take part in fights in conflict areas, they should face prosecution for terrorist activities," Meyer said.
He also suggested revoking German citizenship of those foreign fighters who had both German and Russian citizenship.
More than 6,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists since April 2014, according to the United Nations.
