Foreign Fighters in War: The Pros & Cons

Tens of thousands of foreign fighters have registered their interest and many have fought alongside Ukrainian soldiers in this war.

• On 27 February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the formation of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine and put out a call for volunteers.
• Fighters from countries around Ukraine as well as across the Atlantic registered their interest and many have even fought in the war alongside Ukrainian soldiers.
• In the earliest stages, anyone was allowed to volunteer. Now, the International Legion has a strict vetting process which only takes in volunteers with previous combat experience.
• Many experts feel that volunteering to fight for another nation comes with issues such as language barriers, increased violence against civilians and becoming canon fodder for the enemy.
• There’s also the conflict about whether Russia will consider this as an act of aggression from Western nations if their citizens are indulging in private warfare.
• Russia calls these volunteers as mercenaries and its Defense Ministry has said that if captured, the volunteers would be treated as criminals and not be afforded a prisoner-of-war treatment.