There will be no mass influx of foreigners into the Armed Forces of Ukraine: myths about $4–5 thousand and risk-free checkpoints are slowing recruitment
Volunteers from abroad are already serving on an equal footing, however, the language barrier and difficult integration reduce their effectiveness — Venislavskyi
Disinformation about service conditions and the language barrier are slowing the rapid recruitment of a large number of foreigners into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), as People’s Deputy Fedir Venislavskyi said in an interview with UKRLIFE.TV.
According to the deputy, foreigners already fight as part of Ukrainian units and enjoy the same rights and guarantees as Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, many who want to come arrive with unrealistic expectations formed by rumors about “risk-free” service at checkpoints and supposedly guaranteed payments of 4–5 thousand dollars (up to 200 thousand hryvnias), which do not correspond to the real situation at the front.
Commenting on these distorted perceptions of potential volunteers from abroad, Fedir Venislavskyi gave an example of such promises.
“Can we count on hundreds of thousands… To date there is a problem with the effectiveness of these servicemen who come from other countries. Because there is a problem related to the misinformation of those who want to join military service about the conditions of such military service. They are told that they will stand at checkpoints without any risks to their health and will receive the same 4-5 thousand dollars that our servicemen receive at the front line, – I mean the maximum amount of 200 thousand hryvnias, – and they arrive and then face the realities“
He emphasized that a mass replenishment of the AFU with foreigners should not be expected in the near future. Among the key barriers are lack of language proficiency and the difficulty of operationally integrating into combat units, which affects the effectiveness of task execution.
At the same time, the deputy stressed that recruiting foreign citizens is viewed as one of the possible tools to increase the size of the Ukrainian armed forces in the long term, provided there is proper information and training.
Earlier we wrote:
- 343 days without rotation on the Zaporizhzhia front: AFU officer Botanik stayed due to a lack of personnel
- “Friendly fire” due to chaos and language: ex-commander of the AFU spoke about dangerous incidents at the front
- 1 million hryvnias and the right to travel: in Mykolaiv young people are being invited to contract service in the AFU
- Not mobilization, but an opportunity: Zelensky promises young Ukrainians a contract with “bonuses”
- The Naval TCC in Mykolaiv is selecting “contract soldiers” from among men and women
