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Foreign fighters in the Russo-Ukrainian War

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The Russo-Ukrainian War has seen a significant amount of foreign fighters join both sides of the conflict. It has been estimated that there are approximately 17,000 foreign fighters in Ukraine.[1] Foreign fighters have travelled to fight in the conflict for a variety of reasons, such as far-left or far-right ideologues supporting their perceived ideological allies, religious and ethnic affinities, opposition to Russia or the West and those seeking to do so for "recreational" purposes.[2][verification needed] Prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia had sought to obscure its direct involvement in the War in Donbass (and initially the annexation of Crimea) by stating its forces were foreign volunteers and unaffiliated with its official military forces.[3]

Russian side

Post-Soviet countries

A significant number of foreign fighters from the former Soviet Union have fought in Russo-Ukrainian War for the pro-Russian side. These have includes fighters from Armenia,[4] Belarus,[5] Kazakhstan,[6] Kyrgyzstan,[7][8] Latvia[9] and South Ossetia.[10] Some have fought as volunteers due to being members of Russian diaspora or ideological reasons, while others are mercenaries allegedly hired by the Russian government.

Russian Federation

Prior to its open involvement in 2022, especially during the first peak of the War in Donbass between 2014 and 2015, Russia had previously tried to deny any formal intervention in Ukraine and portrayed Russian forces in the country as either part of local forces[11] or Russian citizens voluntarily fighting in the country.[3][12] These units have been referred as "little green men" by Western and Ukrainian media and as "polite people" by Russian media.[13] The Russian government-supported private military company Wagner Group, largely composed of former Soviet, Eastern European and Syrian soldiers, is deployed in Ukraine to secure Russian interests while maintaining the deniability of formal Russian involvement.[14]

Outside of Russian forces which have been described as volunteers or unrelated to the Russian government to maintain deniability, various Russian individuals and groups have joined separatist forces in Donbass.[15] These have included Cossacks,[16] the pro-Putin National Liberation Movement,[17] the neo-Nazi Russian National Unity,[18] the National Bolshevik Other Russia party[19] and left-wing activists.[20] Non-Slavic ethnic minorities have been among the foreign fighters, including North Ossetians, Ingush,[21] and Chechens.[15]

Fighters from other countries

The majority of foreign fighters from countries outside the former Soviet Union are from Europe. According to a report by Polish security expert Kacper Rekawek for the Polish Institute of International Affairs published in 2015, there were around a hundred Germans, a hundred Serbs and thirty Hungarians fighting for pro-Russian forces in Donbass.[2]

Serbian foreign fighters

A significant amount of Serbian citizens and ethnic Serbs from neighbouring countries such as Bosnia (specifically the autonomous Republika Srpska) and Montenegro have joined to fight for pro-Russian forces in Donbass, having been described by external observers and the DPR/LPR authorities as one of the largest components of foreign fighters.[2][22] Many of the Serb fighters are veterans of the Yugoslav Wars. Serbian units within the pro-Russian forces include the International Brigade, Seventh Brigade, Serbian-Hussar Regiment, Ural Unit, First Slavic Unit, Batman Unit, Rezanj Unit[23] and the Jovan Šević Detachment.[24]

Historical links with Russia, pan-Slavism and religious affinity have been regarded as a major factor in Serbs joining the pro-Russian forces, although many are mercenaries.[15] Many of the fighters are affiliated with the Chetniks, a far-right Serbian nationalist movement.[24]

Far-left volunteers

Left-wing volunteers have gone to fight for the pro-Russian forces, accusing the Ukrainian government of being fascist and thus seeking to engage in an anti-fascist struggle.[2] However, leftist volunteers have co-operated with far-right groups and foreign fighters in Donbass.[25]

A small amount of Spanish socialists have travelled to Ukraine to fight for the separatist forces, with some explaining their decision to join the war by saying they were "repaying the favour" to Russia in reference to the USSR's support to Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War.[15] Spanish fighters have established their own unit, known as the Carlos Palomino International Brigade, which fights under the flag of the Second Spanish Republic. In 2015, it reportedly had less than ten members.[26]

Latvian communist of Ugandan and Russian descent Beness Aijo was arrested in Donetsk in 2014 for fighting with separatist forces and the National Bolshevik Interbrigades.[27][28] A female member of the Israeli Communist Party had also reportedly went to fight for the separatists in 2015.[29]

Far-right volunteers

Far-right foreign fighters from Europe and to a lesser extent North America have fought alongside the pro-Russian separatists in Donbass, including white nationalists, neo-Nazis, fascists and Christian extremists. Motivations for these fighters have included the belief that they are fighting America and Western interests and that Vladimir Putin is a bulwark for traditional white European values who they must support against the decadent West.[2][25]

One notable far-right group is the French organisation Continental Unity, which has been accused of recruiting far-right extremists across Europe to come and fight in Donbass.[15] Other far-right groups include the Bulgarian nationalist Orthodox Dawn Battalion[30] and the Hungarian nationalist Legion of Saint Istvan.[31]

Ukrainian side

Post-Soviet countries

Similar to their opponents, a significant number of foreign fighters from the former Soviet Union have fought in Russo-Ukrainian War for the Ukrainian side. These have included fighters from Armenia,[32] Azerbaijan,[32] Belarus[5] and Georgia.[33][34]

Exiled Chechens opposed to Ramzan Kadyrov have also taken up arms on behalf of the Ukrainians.[15]

Fighters from other countries

International Legion

Main article: International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine

Three days after the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced the establishment of the International Legion.[35]

List of notable expatriate units in Ukraine

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ Makuch, Ben (2 February 2022). "'War Tourists' and Mercs Boost Ranks of Foreign Fighters Flocking to Ukraine". Vice. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Barber, Tony (22 April 2015). "Ukraine conflict attracts foreign fighters – on both sides". The Financial Times. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Ukraine crisis: 'Thousands of Russians' fighting in east". British Broadcasting Company. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. ^ "'I was a separatist fighter in Ukraine'". The Guardian. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Belarusians Fighting On Both Sides In Eastern Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Trial Begins For Kazakh Citizen Suspected Of Fighting Alongside Separatists In Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Kyrgyz Mercenary Details Russian Military Role In Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. ^ Altynbayev, Kanat (10 August 2020). "Kyrgyz membership in Russia's Wagner Group sends warning to Central Asia". Caravanserai. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Latvians claimed among pro-Russia volunteers in Ukraine". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  10. ^ "South Ossetian volunteers return from Donetsk and Luhansk". Vestnik Kavkaza. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  11. ^ Schreck, Carl (26 February 2019). "Ukraine crisis: 'Thousands of Russians' fighting in east". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  12. ^ "'Wagner Group': the mercenaries serving Putin in Syria". France24. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ^ Shevchenko, Vitaly (11 March 2014). ""Little green men" or "Russian invaders"?". British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  14. ^ Marten, Kimberly (26 March 2019). "Russia's use of semi-state security forces: the case of the Wagner Group". Post-Soviet Affairs. 35 (3): 181–204. doi:10.1080/1060586X.2019.1591142. S2CID 159110194. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Jackson, Patrick (1 September 2014). "Ukraine war pulls in foreign fighters". British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  16. ^ Kiley, Sam (29 March 2014). "Russian Cossacks Ready For Ukraine 'Rescue'". Sky News. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  17. ^ Ashimov, Aydar (20 January 2021). "Russian National Liberation Movement stokes anxiety in Kazakhstan". Caravanserai. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  18. ^ Mezzofiore, Gianluca (1 September 2014). "Ukraine Crisis: Who Are the Russian Neo-Nazi Groups Fighting with Separatists?". International Business Times. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  19. ^ Semyonov, Dmitry (29 September 2020). "Russia's national bolshevik flees to Lithuania: war in Donbass was the turning point". Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  20. ^ Luhn, Alec (22 December 2014). "The People's Court of Eastern Ukraine". The Nation. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  21. ^ Avedissian, Karena (12 September 2014). "North Caucasians' Sad, Paradoxical Fight in Eastern Ukraine". Global Voices. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Rebel fighters 'trained in Russia'". British Broadcasting Company. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  23. ^ Zivanovic, Maja (13 December 2018). "Donbass Brothers: How Serbian Fighters Were Deployed in Ukraine". Balkan Insights. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  24. ^ a b "For what are fighting the Serbian Chetniks in eastern Ukraine?". DW.DE.
  25. ^ a b Hagel, Sebastian (7 September 2014). "This is where Neo-Nazi foreign fighters fought alongside communists" [A group of Spaniards resuscitate the International Brigades and go to Ukraine to fight] (in Spanish). Sciencenorway.no. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Un grupo de españoles resucitan las Brigadas Internacionales y acuden a Ucrania a combatir" [A group of Spaniards resuscitate the International Brigades and go to Ukraine to fight] (in Spanish). Europapress. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  27. ^ In Donetsk arrested Ayo Benes Archived 8 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine. News2Night. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  28. ^ Extremists from the Crimea get over to Donetsk: on meeting for Yanukovych Aksenov's black "fighter". News.pn (22 March 2014). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  29. ^ Sokol, Sam (20 August 2015). "Israeli communist joins Ukrainian rebels to fight 'fascists and neo-Nazis'" [A group of Spaniards resuscitate the International Brigades and go to Ukraine to fight]. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  30. ^ ""Православна зора" праща бойна група в Украйна срещу Мамоническия Запад". 2 March 2014.
  31. ^ Легион Святого Иштвана отправит добровольцев в Новороссию (in Russian). Информационное агентство «Новороссия». 1 June 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  32. ^ a b Vardy, Emma (29 April 2018). "The Briton fighting 'other people's wars'". British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  33. ^ Marten, Kimberly (26 June 2019). "Georgian Foreign Fighters in the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine, 2014–2017". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 32 (2): 159–177. doi:10.1080/13518046.2019.1618583. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  34. ^ "Georgian fighters defy Russia in Ukraine". Anadolu Agency. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  35. ^ "Ukraine creating international territorial defense legion - Zelensky" (in Russian). Ukrinform. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
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