On Telegram and Facebook, Russian propagandists are circulating a screenshot of a CBC article about Marc Mazerolle, a Canadian whose son was killed while fighting in defense of Ukraine. He went on to establish a foundation that supports the families of foreign volunteers whose loved ones were killed or went missing in Ukraine. The altered screenshot falsely attributes to him a claim that 70,000-90,000 members of the International Legion have "disappeared."

This is false. Mazerolle does cite his own estimate of the number of foreign volunteers who have been killed or gone missing in Ukraine, but the figure is ten times lower than the one promoted by Russian propaganda. According to the CBC article, his estimate is 7,000-9,000 people.

Russian propagandists manipulated the original screenshot using image-editing software to add an extra zero to the figures.

It should also be noted that the estimate of 7,000-9,000 is Mazerolle's personal assessment and has not been independently verified. The CBC article notes that his foundation is currently assisting about 40 families from around the world, including those from Canada, France, Finland, Australia, and the Czech Republic.

The fabricated claim is intended to promote the false narrative of supposedly massive losses among Ukraine's Armed Forces and to discourage foreign volunteers from joining Ukraine's Defense Forces.

There are no official figures on casualties among foreign nationals fighting for Ukraine. However, it has previously been reported that more than 10,000 foreign volunteers have served, or continue to serve, in units of Ukraine's Ground Forces.

At the same time, Russia continues to recruit foreign nationals to fight against Ukraine. According to named casualty records compiled by the Russian service of the BBC and independent Russian outlet Mediazona, at least 3,589 foreign nationals from 40 countries had been killed while serving in the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine as of July 10, 2026.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Russian propaganda has also circulated fabricated stories and recycled old videos concerning Ukraine and Poland.

Andrii Olenin