The Russian propaganda media spread such a statement concerning the words of the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov. The report says that Great Britain has decided to recognize the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" because London will appeal the death sentence handed down by the court of the so-called DNR to two Britons who fought on the side of Ukraine.

Propagandists claim that in this way, the leadership of Great Britain will have to recognize the jurisdiction of the so-called LDNR and start a dialogue with them. Instead, as the StopFake fact-checkers write, the Foreign Ministry of Great Britain stated that the decision of the "court" of the so-called "DNR," which passed the death sentence to British citizens, is fictitious and "has no legal force." "The people whom the Kremlin propaganda calls mercenaries are servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - according to the Geneva Conventions, the legal status of combatants (participants in military operations) applies to them. "Foreigners who have been captured have the right to be treated as prisoners of war," the fact-checkers write.