Foreigners make up about 2% of the total number of defense forces.
There will be more of them in the future. As the media explains, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is developing a strategy, the main element of which is the involvement of foreigners in combat missions.
Despite the development by the Ukrainian authorities of official channels for recruiting foreign fighters, “word of mouth” worked best: idealists called the same idealists to fight against Kremlin imperialism, and legionnaires with experience invited their comrades from previous service.
In this context, Colombian citizens predominate, and especially many of them arrived in Ukraine. True, their military experience is not very relevant, Konstantin Milevsky, head of the department for coordinating military service by foreigners in the Ground Forces, said in a conversation with DW.
According to him, Colombians are used to fighting “against guerrillas and cartels in the jungle, but here the enemy was a large army with missiles and drones.”
In order for legionnaires to become a truly important element of the defense of Ukraine, Milevsky recommended that the military leadership “change their optics.” So that they perceive Ukraine not only as a source of income, but also feel the goals of this war. So that for them Ukraine becomes a place where they can stay and become part of society,” he added.
