foreign fighters

The current situation at Ukraine’s border with Russia has left a deep wound on a national and global scale. Hundreds of people have died, and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated since the war. As one of the essential aspects of war, soldiers needed to increase the number of their forces. Both Ukraine and Russia have called for foreign fighters to join the fight.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asked for help several days after the Russian invasion. Zelensky stated that around 20,000 ‘International Legion” members of 52 nationalities have applied to join the fight in Ukraine. The media noted that the Ukrainian volunteers came from Georgia, Belarus, Japan, the UK, the US, etc. Not only by volunteering as soldiers but also as medics and admin. President Zelenskyy even offers Ukrainian citizenship to those international volunteers.

In addition, Russia recruits foreign fighters in Syria and other Middle East nations to fortify the Russian military forces in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has approved around 16,000 volunteers to strengthen Russia’s military fights. Putin rewarded the ‘volunteers’ with around USD400 a week to join the Ukraine war.

Joining a war is difficult, especially when volunteering in other countries. Not only may it risk one’s life, but also the family and their own country. Even the President of the UK and the US have urged their citizen to return home. So far, the Russians claim they had killed 180 foreign fighters in Ukraine; if so, why would the country need foreign fighters? Why are these foreigners willing to fight for other countries?

 

 

Understanding the foreign volunteers in a war

An armed force that belongs to a foreign government or organizational entity is called a foreign armed force. The term for foreign fighters differs from three main categories: mercenaries (hired, with political and financial motives), foreign ‘fighters,’ or volunteers. Foreign volunteers are insurgents, rebels, or non-state actors who willingly fight during wartime to assist the country or community. Foreign volunteers are also separate from the military armed forces.

It is rather challenging to determine one’s reason as it may have various causes, even for the same person in a different situation. Moreover, external factors such as media coverage, promotion, and state propaganda may impact the volunteers’ decisions in the current digital era.

Then, why is the country decided to call for foreign volunteers? Cited from The Conversation, Nir Arielli argued that there are three main reasons for a country to open foreign volunteers recruitment; manpower shortages, improved armed forces quality, and influence volunteers to join international politics.

Ukraine has less capable of military power, particularly in manpower. According to Global Fire Power, Ukraine has a 22 million workforce; only around 15 million are fit for fighting. On the other hand, Russia has almost 70 million manpower, and 46 million of those are suitable for service in a military operation.

For Ukraine, the three reasons are applicable. The involvement of foreign volunteers will raise its military manpower and the quality of armed forces. Many foreign people who joined the volunteers are veterans in the host country, and they are willing to sacrifice their time, knowledge, even lives to support Ukraine and its integrity. Ukraine has called for those who are experienced in military and medical practice to help the situation in Ukraine.

At the same time, the call for volunteers is also an effort to push other countries to involve more in the situation. Not only did their citizen, but also the politician who considered their citizen important. Therefore, calling for volunteers, especially when its survival and core interests are at stake, is the best choice for Ukraine.

On the other hand, the Russian, who has a five-times stronger army, also called for thousands of foreign volunteers. The Russian already has a long and strong relationship with the pro-Rusian separatists on the Ukraine border. Adding more fighters for its manpower showed their intention to raise its quantity and quality.

Russian troops are needed to capture Ukrainian cities; they only control most of the major Ukrainian southern towns. In addition, Russia affirms they will treat the volunteer to Ukraine as mercenaries. If captured by Russia, mercenaries will not be protected by international law or prisoners of war. Instead, the volunteers will be charged with war crimes by the Russian authority—Russia intends to frighten the volunteers into joining the conflict in Ukraine.

 

 

Not the first foreign volunteer call

To take into note, this was not the first time there has been a use of foreign volunteers. For example, the Bosnian war in 1991-1995 with foreign volunteers from Russia and Greece. Nir Arielli argues that the reason volunteers came to Bosnia at that time was as part of an individual search for meaning, comradeship, and empowerment. A search for meaning refers to a will to fight for ideological conviction, to improve self-esteem, or a sense of purpose. There is also a reason for comradeship and empowerment, raised because of the same situation or unity.

Like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, foreign volunteers have flocked to Ukraine and Russia. One of the reasons is the rise of digital media and the focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict news. It produces never-ending impressions and views in most social media such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, etc. These platforms have impacted and driven civilians, ex-militaries, and all elements of society to involve and support Ukraine.

They came from various backgrounds for numerous reasons. Ukraine’s government has repeatedly spoken that these volunteers are not mercenaries hired and sent by the Western, and there is no payment for their deeds. Then it refers to the support of the volunteers without getting paid, and at the same time risking their safety and well-being. One of the volunteers from Germany stated, “I thought it was too cowardly and too stupid to run away from this fight.” The reason for volunteering, in this case, is a sense of personal beliefs, mainly the eagerness to support the unfair and unjust attack by Russia.

One of the British volunteers also stated, My Ukrainian grandfather fought against the Red Army and the Nazis in world war two. Now it’s my turn to help.” The statement also reflects a sense of comradeship and empowerment from the volunteers to bring the help back to the Ukrainians who need help most now.

Last but not least, aside from the sense of purpose nor comradeship, it can not also be denied that certain people join the fight even when they have no plan or experience in war. These conditions are inevitable; on the one hand, Ukraine needs more support, and on the other hand, it may result in more victims. No experience and plan in the war zone are reckless and dangerous decisions.