Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that 16,000 foreigners had traveled to his country to fight Russian forces. A few days later, the volunteer ranks were estimated at 20,000, Ukrainian Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov told CNN.
[...]
“I need only one motivation … to save people and save civilians,” [Commander Mamuka] Mamulashvili, who leads around 700 [foreign volunteer] soldiers in the Georgian Legion.
[...]
“I don’t want bloodthirsty guys who want to come and just shoot somebody.”
Mamulashvili has been weeding out recruits with radical views or with ties to right-wing organizations: “We are avoiding extremists — we don’t want them here.”
[...]
Mamulashvili commands professional soldiers from dozens of countries, the bulk of which come from the United States, United Kingdom and his native Georgia — which has also been invaded by Russia [in the past].
Politico
Georgian Legion [...] has been recruiting and training battalions in Ukraine since April 2014, just weeks after Russia started its annexation of Crimea.
[...]
Mamulashvili says one thing that’s changed during the past eight years of combat is the pounding from above.
“It’s airstrikes — permanent airstrikes and ballistic missiles that are shelling us all the time,” he said, adding a no-fly zone could “save a lot of lives.”
“Now, while I’m talking with you, I hear heavy shelling. This shelling is not just a sound — it is the lives of children, women and mostly the civilian population. … Bombs are falling on our heads, and we can do nothing.”
[...]
[Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky] established another international legion shortly after last month’s Russian invasion.
Cpl. Damien Magrou, a spokesperson for the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, says his fighting force is made of a large contingent of British, American and Polish volunteers [as well as several other countries].
[...]
When it comes to qualifications, Magrou said a military background on its own isn’t good enough. The legion is looking for foreign fighters with live combat experience.
“What we want is for people to come that have already been in the line of fire,” he said.
[...]
Magrou says U.S. volunteers tend to have backgrounds from a wide variety of conflict zones — everything from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya as well as fighters with private contractor experience in Africa.
For many of the recruits from Central and Eastern Europe, he said the fight is personal — they’re going to the front lines to defend the region, not just Ukraine.
[...]
At the Georgian Legion, Mamulashvili said only professional soldiers are accepted. Most receive an AK assault rifle and, for those who know how to use them, anti-tank weapons.
I hope they can be trusted.
No comments:
Post a Comment