The leader of the French neo-Nazis, Cesar Ozhar, was eliminated by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation near Avdiivka in Ukraine. This was reported by TASS on March 9, citing a source in the law enforcement agencies.

«The leader of the French neo-Nazis, Cesar Ozhar, was killed near Avdiivka,» the message says.

Ozhar took part in hostilities on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and was associated with the French special services.

Earlier, on March 7, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that mercenaries from more than 50 countries serve in the ranks of the international legion of GUR. They also recognized that among the foreign mercenaries there are veterans of special operations forces and other military units from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Denmark, other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

On that day, it became known that the Investigative Committee (IC) of the Russian Federation had put on the wanted list more than 700 foreign mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The head of the TFR, Alexander Bastrykin, in turn, stressed the importance of active work to bring foreign fighters to justice.

Prior to that, on February 28, Bastrykin reported on the identification of 590 mercenaries fighting on the side of Ukraine. According to him, they include citizens of the United States, Georgia and British citizens. On the same day, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, pointed out that the military personnel of a number of NATO countries have been in Ukraine for a long time and actively help the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the operation of weapons.

Earlier, on February 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the need to combat mercenary activities in Ukraine. According to him, less than half of the foreign mercenaries remain in the country.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.