Many soldiers from abroad who voluntarily join the International Legion consider the war in Ukraine to be a shootout with the enemy. But the density of artillery and rocket attacks here is hard to imagine outside the combat zone.
Foreign volunteers are shocked by what they saw in the war in Ukraine
Foreign volunteers continue to join the Ukrainian army ranks, but some are faced with the "unexpectedly harsh" course of the war. That's why some fighters break the contract after what they saw.
This is stated in CNN's material.
Yes, even though volunteers are joining the International Legion, there is a shortage of servicemen in Ukraine, sometimes critically.
The publication says that the Ukrainian authorities openly admit that evasion of military service and non-compliance with the rules of mobilization are currently problems in Ukraine.
Lieutenant Dmytro Kostyuk told CNN that their unit felt a lack of people, and therefore, "the platoon began to be replenished with foreign fighters, only 12 people."
But, according to him, many foreigners do not understand all the specifics of the hostilities in Ukraine, often romanticizing the war. However, they face a harsh reality on the front lines, and not everyone can withstand it.
For some it was the romance of war, for others it was professional activity. For many, this is just a nice line on their resume. As a rule, they do not realize what they are getting into. Many people imagine our war as a firefight with the enemy, but they do not understand how much artillery there is, and that you sit under fire all day, every day, and you may not see the enemy at all, the military man emphasized.
Unlike the Ukrainian military, Kostyuk also noted that foreign volunteers can quickly terminate the contract.
It happened to me — almost half of the people saw everything and said: "No, no, this is too much. This is not the war we signed up for," the lieutenant shared .
Earlier, Venislavsky asked whether it is possible to demobilize the fighters who have been fighting since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He noted that Ukraine is unlikely to decide on the demobilization of soldiers soon; in particular, this is connected with the risks that the Russian Federation poses for Ukraine.
A film about the International Legion of the Armed Forces
Online.UA, with the assistance of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, created a documentary project, "International Legion. Freedom without borders", which collects impressive stories of foreigners fighting as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the Russian army since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia.
Foreign legionnaires repulse the Moscow army together with servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Who are these worthy people? What is their motivation? How do they fight, and what do they feel? About all this in the film "International Legion. Freedom without borders".
