The Times: The new legion of foreign fighters with Ukraine... who are they and where did they come from?

Many, including former ministers and lawmakers, have heeded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call to join a Ukrainian foreign legion being created to help repel the Russian attack on Ukraine, a report by the British newspaper "The Times" said.

The newspaper quoted Anton Bondarenko, 22, who, along with about 100 of his colleagues in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, form a virtual call center to answer inquiries from those wishing to join the corps, officially known as the "International Corps of Regional Defense of Ukraine", as he says, "We get people from all over the world." The largest number may be from America, but from Australia, Turkey and France as well, and from everywhere."

Echo of the Spanish Civil War

The report quoted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the number of foreign volunteers until the end of last week reached 20,000 men from 52 countries, in an echo of the international battalions that attracted fighters from all over the world to fight on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War.

Thousands more are believed to have been recruited in the days that followed, intensified by the increasing brutality of the war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The arrival of volunteers provides a much-needed boost to Ukrainian morale.

Veterans of the British or other Western armies who have experience in recent conflicts in the Middle East or Afghanistan are particularly welcome.

Volunteers from around the world support the Ukrainian forces (Reuters)

The most dangerous sniper in the world

One of the most notable arrivals is Wali - a computer scientist from Montreal who has been dubbed the world's most dangerous sniper after serving with the 22nd Royal Canadian Regiment in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq - he is reported to have killed up to 40 people in one day from a record height of 3,540 metres.

Another notable volunteer was the former Georgian Defense Minister, Irakli Okruashvili, whose unit - a few days after his arrival in Ukraine - helped capture the powerful Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle, as well as Joris Yurash, Member of Parliament of Latvia and former policeman.

However, there are fears that the conflict also threatens to lure young adventure-seekers who lack military experience and all they know are computer-screen battles in their bedrooms.

The former British commander of the British Joint Forces Command, General Sir Richard Barrons, said, “War is a great recruiting officer. If people have strong military experience and some personal equipment and only need armament, they can become a source of strength for the Ukrainians. to fight, they will be a burden."

Recruitment procedures

As for recruitment, the report shows that the path to war begins in Ukrainian embassies abroad, where those who have contacted the call center employed by Anton Bondarenko and have been registered, or have gone online, are asked to contact the embassy.

John, 61, a former British royal engineer with 18 years of experience in the military, including periods in the first Gulf War and in the Balkans, was prompted by Russia's bombing the day before a maternity hospital in Mariupol to apply to join the Foreign Legion. He sees defending Ukraine against Russia as an issue. "It's worth fighting for."

One of the foreigners who organized others from the Polish border into Ukraine said that anyone coming should have no doubts about the violence of the fighting they are likely to encounter, which is more reminiscent of the battles of World War II than of recent military campaigns.

"Even those who have served in the British army have never seen such a conflict before. There are cruise missiles being thrown at us; air strikes. This is not Afghanistan or Iraq. It is very different."

symbolic and narrative value

According to the Times report, the main value of the foreign fighters may be symbolic and narrative. The Spanish Civil War has been celebrated annually to share writers such as George Orwell, who wrote "A Tribute to Catalonia" about his experiences fighting fascists, and Ernest Hemingway, who wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. .

And about Russian reactions to this influx of foreigners to support Ukraine, the Times said there are indications that the Kremlin is using the presence of volunteers to justify the establishment of a rival foreign legion in Russia.

On Friday, Putin issued orders to engage more than 16,000 "volunteers" from Syria loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and elsewhere in the Middle East to fight in Ukraine alongside Russian forces.

She added that mere rumors about British citizens joining the Ukrainian armed forces could be manipulated by the Russians into allegations that British special forces were involved and that NATO was escalating the conflict. ".

cyber army

The Times also published another report on the "Ukrainian Information Technology Army" that includes 300,000 foreign volunteers from all over the world to counter Russian propaganda.