Hundreds of Foreign Fighters Killed in Ukraine, Thousands Still in Combat

 

by Kyle Anzalone | Jan 18, 2023

Thousands of people from around the world have answered Kiev’s call and are fighting in Ukraine, according to The Washington Post. In the nearly 11-month-long war, over 100 foreign nationals have died fighting for Ukraine, and over 1,000 have been wounded.

The Post conducted a series of interviews with fighters in an attempt to determine their motivations. The outlet reported, “[m]any seemed more interested in posing for Instagram than committing to the drudgery of trench warfare. Others seemed too eager to live out fantasies from the Call of Duty video game.” The report continued, “and some have faced more serious allegations of theft or sexual assault, or were found to be fleeing criminal cases at home.”

In the initial months of the war, Kiev reported tens of thousands had signed up to fight with the Ukrainian forces. However, The Post notes many fighters were deterred early on, “[t]he realities of the war unnerved many initial volunteers,” the outlet said. The Post, citing unnamed “analysts and academics” accesses there are between 1,000 and 3,000 foreign fighters currently in Ukraine.

Kacper Rekawek, a researcher at the Center for Research on Extremism, believes 100 of the foreign fighters have been killed and over 1,000 have been wounded. In March, The Post reported thousands of fighters had already arrived in Ukraine and many held a “shared vision for an ultranationalist ethno-state.”

The Post’s article comes as Ukraine’s International Legion faces a major scandal surrounding its spokeswoman. Emese Fajk, who allegedly committed fraud in Australia before fleeing to Ukraine, is under investigation by Ukraine’s intelligence agency for stealing millions in medical supplies intended for the foreign fighters, according to The Daily Mail. The stolen delivery included “large quantities of painkillers like fentanyl, lidocaine, and ketamine, along with more common medications.” Fajk denies the allegations.

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/hundreds-of-foreign-fighters-killed-in-ukraine-thousands-still-in-combat/

 

About Kyle Anzalone

Kyle Anzalone is news editor of the Libertarian Institute, opinion editor of Antiwar.com and co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Will Porter and Connor Freeman.