The foreigners come from, among others, Canada, the US, Israel, Georgia and Sweden. Some find each other Reddit† Others see a Facebook call from the Ukrainian embassy in their country. Then they call the hotline set up by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
“Thank you for your contribution to the victory. For English press 2“, says the voting computer. When the NOS calls in recent days, the line is often overloaded. A switchboard operator who eventually picks up says that the call center employees are too busy to answer questions from journalists at short notice.
Once signed up, the logistics run smoothly, says Bonini. “So far I think the ministry is fantastic. They give a lot of support, let us know what equipment to bring, help with arranging transport.” He had to show that he has fighting experience.
‘Contribution to peace’
Bonini hopes to fight side by side with other British soldiers in Ukraine. Because they had the same training, they would work together more smoothly, he says. “A group of four or five Britons can operate much faster.”
But it probably won’t, says researcher Kacper Rekawek of the Center for the Study of Extremism at the University of Oslo. He studies how foreign volunteers functioned in the fighting since 2013 in the separatist region of Donbas.
“There is not enough time to group the foreign volunteers,” says Rekawek. “They will likely be distributed among the army’s existing fighting units to fill gaps.”
–
