US media: Ukrainian foreign volunteers armed like "rabble-rousers"

The reference news network reported on March 16 that according to the Associated Press Ukraine Lviv reported on March 15, the Ukrainian president called on foreign volunteers to join the International Legion to resist russia's "invasion." The volunteers who were recruited said they were often waiting for weapons and training, which made them feel like they were being exposed targets. These volunteers are now just a bunch of "rabble-rousers.".

"Pure hell: fire, shouting, pain. There are many more bombs and missiles," Swedish volunteer Jesper Sedel said of the scene after the airstrike on Yavoliv on the 13th. According to Ukrainian authorities, the military training center in western Ukraine was attacked by Russian missiles, killing 35 people. The Russian side said that the actual death toll was higher than this.

Södel said he led a group of foreign volunteers out of the base and crossed the nearby border back to Poland, including Scandinavians, Britons and Americans.

Söder told The Associated Press reporter by phone in Krakow, Poland, that he did not know how many foreign volunteers were training at the base at the time, but estimated that there were hundreds. He has fought alongside Kurdish fighters in Syria against militants from the Islamic State group. Unlike Södel, many of the volunteers in Yavoliv had not previously received military training.

They came to Ukraine from other European countries, the United States and elsewhere, and some were ready to die before they had touched a gun. They want to be equipped, trained and ready for battle.

But when some people arrived, they found that there were no weapons, no protective equipment, no proper training, and the lack of organization and language barriers created a sense of confusion.

Russia has threatened to target what it calls foreign "mercenaries," saying it has carried out such strikes at the Yavoliv military training base. This further exacerbates the risk.

Briton Matthew Robinson is from Yorkshire, north of England, where he had previously lived in southern Spain. He said: "It's chaotic right now. There's no order, and if you're not with a bunch of well-informed people, then you could be in trouble very quickly. ”

False information

Robinson and several other volunteers were interviewed on the outskirts of Lviv, where foreign fighters were being trained and mentored.

Robinson had only recently arrived in Ukraine, and now he was still cautious, trying to sort things out. There are "many legions, many false promises, many false information" here, he said. In addition, there is a "huge language barrier" here, "there are many people here who have never fired a gun".

Russia's threat to crack down on what it calls "mercenaries" puts foreign fighters at greater risk. Russia claimed that 180 "mercenaries" were killed in the attack on the training base on the 13th. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Monday that the Russian military would "treat mercenaries on Ukrainian territory without mercy."

He said the Russian military was tracking the movements of foreign fighters and would launch another strike.

Sedder's description of the attack on the Yavoliv base suggests that it was not an indiscriminate blow.

He said the Russian bombing of the base was unlike any bombing he had ever experienced, "they knew exactly what to strike, they knew exactly where the weapons were stored, where the administrative buildings were, and all the missiles hit our sore spots."

Jericho Skye, 26, is from Montana and served in the U.S. Army's Gendarmerie Corps. He said he was fortunate to have escaped the attack in western Ukraine by waiting for weapons to be distributed at a temporary base in Kiev at the time. He still had hope that weapons would soon be distributed and that the Ukrainians had done their best in the dire situation.

"We're in a war zone, there are small-scale exchanges of fire on the road, bombs are falling almost every day, and we've not received weapons because of bureaucracy and paperwork, which is very frustrating to us," he said. ”

NATO countries have ruled out the possibility of directly participating in the war and providing air defense at Ukraine's request, which NATO leaders say could trigger World War III.

Skye said: "Now it's only them against the entire Russian army. He pointed out that the Russian authorities have called on Syrian mercenaries to join the Russian armed forces.

Death was not within his consideration. "I am very aware of the current situation and I will do my best to return to my country," he said. ”

The number of people is unknown

It is unclear how many people around the globe have joined Ukraine's International Corps. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy once said there were 16,000. This figure cannot be confirmed, but according to interviews in Ukraine and some European capitals, a mixed volunteer army is taking shape.

Skye said volunteers from around the globe were with him in Kiev, but he declined to give the exact number, calling it "sensitive information."

There is evidence that foreigners' enthusiasm for the Ukrainian cause has overwhelmed at least some Ukrainian embassies. In Paris, Ukrainian volunteers, including students, stood on the sidewalk and advised potential fighters from Bordeaux, Rouen and elsewhere in France to submit spreadsheets.

A 27-year-old American said on the Polish border that he was from New York State, a "relatively successful" business owner who had served in Israeli paratroopers. He said he had had direct conversations with Ukrainian military officials. Ukrainian military officials say that those who have not received training in particular "have overwhelmed them".

He told only that his name was Alexander, who said he had not told his parents that he was ready to go to war, and that as a former paratrooper he felt "absolutely responsible" to help the Ukrainian people. He said he saw rabbi conscripted into the army and issued with AK-47 rifles that gave him the idea to sign up.

In an interview outside Lviv, a Chicago sergeant Harrison Josephovich who resigned to join the International Corps of Ukraine, said: "(They) are committing war crimes there and millions of refugees are fleeing their homes. I knew I was needed here more than the Chicago Police Department. Josephovich admitted that the family "thought I was a bit crazy".

But British citizen Matthew Robinson stressed that foreigners who are eager to go to the battlefield to help should be cautious.

Robinson said, "If anyone wants to come here, then organize the team and set some restrictions on yourself," gathering information before you get here. "Because you may be hastily divided into a corps and quickly sent to the front," he said. ”

He added: "Even if you are out of good intentions to help others, you are likely to become cannon fodder." (Compiler/Liu Baiyun)

Source: Reference News Network