When Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine last month, 27-year-old Nigerian Abraham posted on Twitter that he wanted to join the fight. Especially after Ukrainian President Zelensky issued an appeal to "come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians," Abraham was moved.
"It is better to fight in Ukraine than to live here." He thought this was a good opportunity for him to leave Africa. "If the war ends, maybe I will be allowed to stay and even become a hero." But the reality is far from what he imagined. From excitement to disappointment and even fear, this is the same mental journey of many foreigners who went to Ukraine to participate in the war. After three to five days of training, he went to the frontline
On the third day of Russia's special military operation, Zelensky announced the establishment of a "Foreign Legion" and openly recruited foreigners to join the war. The next day, he signed a decree exempting all foreigners who wanted to join the Ukrainian army from visas. Priddy, 25, was heartbroken. He took three weeks off from school and told his fiancée that he was going to Ukraine. He served in the British Army for 6 years and retired in 2018. He worked as a teacher at a vocational school in Wales, teaching students how to make tourniquets and treat wounds.
Pridi and 15 other foreigners piled into a car bound for Ukraine and arrived at a Ukrainian military base two hours later. After resting for an hour and having breakfast, the group waited with great anticipation to be assigned suitable roles. Priddy thought that considering that many foreigners coming to Ukraine had no fighting experience, the Ukrainian army would assess their skills and then allocate tasks appropriately. For example, he could go to refugee camps to help care for the wounded and teach basic first aid knowledge. But the Ukrainian soldiers who came to assign tasks told them: "You should fight on the front line."
According to the Ukrainian soldiers, these foreigners will receive three to five days of training: the first two days of learning and watching Maps and basic medical knowledge; weapons are distributed on the third day and shooting practice is done at the range; after that everyone, regardless of combat experience, is sent to the front lines. For ordinary people who have never fired a gun at anyone, less than a week of training is simply not enough. "Don't think that if you get a rifle, you will instantly become 'Captain America'. Because you are not at all, and you may die." Once you sign the contract, don't even think about leaving
Come to western Ukraine In front of the Yavoriv military base, Swede Soder did not think too much about "death". But after staying at the base for a while, especially after experiencing the Russian attack, his attitude changed. Sood said that this base is full of foreigners who have never held a gun. They thought they would receive systematic training first and then go to the battlefield. However, they found that there were no weapons, no protective equipment, no training, and even no language skills. None of it makes sense, and it’s filled with “a lot of false promises and misinformation.” Being cannon fodder is their destiny.
Russian troops attacked this base. "They knew exactly what they were going to hit, they knew exactly where the weapons depots were, they knew exactly where the administrative building was," Soder said. The attack scared the stragglers, and Sood left Ukraine and fled to Poland. However, not every foreign mercenary who has figured it out can run away so easily.
Priddy said that he and other foreigners were told that to stay in Ukraine and participate in the war, they needed to sign a "deed of sale." This contract stipulates that: the salary of foreign mercenaries is 7,000 hryvnias (approximately RMB 1,400) per month; they must stay in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion before the end of the war and are not allowed to leave; their performance is the same as that of all Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years old. obligations. And this is an indefinite contract, which means you can't quit at any time if you want to. In fact, no one was informed of these restrictions before entering Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry sources confirmed the existence of these terms. Less than ten hours after entering Ukraine, Pridi left the base and hitchhiked back to the Ukrainian-Polish border. Mithlan, a professor of international politics at Lancaster University in the UK, believes that foreign mercenaries are usually "thrill-seekers". He advises people to think twice about such an "irritation" or, more pointedly, "the best advice is not to go."
"If you are an ordinary person without any skills."
Informed sources told Jiji News Agency that since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in February this year, foreigners from 58 countries and regions have gone to Ukraine to participate in the war. . In the early days of the conflict, Ukrainian President Zelensky called on people from all over the world to join Ukraine's "International Legion." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba once said that reports pointed out that the Japanese government called on Japanese citizens not to travel to Ukraine and that Japanese citizens already in Ukraine should leave the country. Japanese citizens who become volunteers to join foreign armies may be charged with preparing or planning private war crimes under Japan's criminal law.