This is going to be an experimental post, an English one. We will see how it works and later on I will publish the Hungarian version as well.
It has been nearly a year that the fights in Ukraine started. Even the inhabitants now hiding in cellars and air-raid shelters would not have thought that the flow of events and diplomatic struggle can take such an appalling turn. However the outbreak of open hostilities mobilized pretty soon volunteers (not mentioning "Russian military personnel on holiday") and mercenaries from Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union to fight for either the Ukrainian or the separatist cause decided by their personal political belief or the influence of propaganda. In the following I am not about to make political statements, promote political views or express my sympathy towards any of the warring sides. I was working on this post as someone interested in international affairs because such events have not taken place since the '90s in Europe and the question of mercenaries and freedom fighters examined together with the question of ISIS would deserve a much longer material.
Volunteers on the separatist side:
A couple of days ago there were news about eight Spanish far-left activists who were arrested by the Spanish authorities after their return from the Donbass. According to the hints of the press they did not really hide their activities on social networks so they can serve as proofs for the investigation. According to the press they were inspired by the international brigades of the Spanish Civil War.
There is information about Italian communist youth activists in Donetsk but there is no reliable information about their involvement in the fights.
There is information about Italian communist youth activists in Donetsk but there is no reliable information about their involvement in the fights.
During the Russian occupation of Crimea the international media picked up the news circling about Serb Chetniks (nationalist Serbs infamous from the partisan war against the Axis forces in WWII) joining ranks with the Russian army and the separatist. Later on they claimed the killing of Ukrainian servicemen on social media.
The biggest group of foreign fighters backing the separatist is coming from the minorities of the Russian Federation and the republics of the former Soviet Union. There are Armenians fighting on both sides, according to Western journalists there are volunteer units consisting of Buryats and Yakuts from Siberia.
There are Chechens fighting on both sides as well. The Chechens loyal to the leader Ramzan Kadirov in Grozny who was appointed by president Putin are organized into battalions called Smerch and Vostok (mean "death" and "east" in Russian) and it fight alongside the separatist since nearly the start of the conflict but their first major media coverage is dated back to the Ukrainian attack of Donetsk airport in May 2014.
Volunteers on the Ukrainian side:
As we finished the previous list with Chechens let's begin with them. The "Dzokhar Dudaev peacekeeping battalion" named after the Chechen leader of the first Chechen-Russian war. Until his recent death the battalion was lead by Isa Munayev, the former military commander of Grozny (1999-2000). He told reporters that with their involvement in the war they are paying back debts to Ukrainians who helped Chechens in the war against Russia. In the battalion there are Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians, Azeris and Georgians serving. There is another Chechen unit fighting against the Russians called Sheikh Mansour, it broke away from the Dudayev group.
As mentioned above there are around 100 Georgians fighting alongside the Ukrainian government and volunteer troops, many have previous military experience from the war in 2008 and international peace-keeping missions in Iraq and Afghanistan so many are providing training for Ukrainian personnel.
There are many volunteers from Europe fighting in the ranks of the battalions formed during last year but the most infamous is the Azov which is led by a Ukrainian far-right activist Andriy Biletsky and includes Neo-Nazis from the Baltics, Italy, the UK, Russia, Italy, Belorussia and Sweden which gives tough moments to the Ukrainian government that is trying to gain international support and offers an easy target to Russian separatist propaganda that "tractorists and miners" are fighting nazis in Eastern Ukraine. According to other sources the 30% of the battalion is consisting of Ukrainians and Russians from Crimea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia verified the information recently about Croats fighting in Ukraine (mostly in the Azov). One of them made his journey via Budapest.
Concerning these people, fighting for something they believe in or for the money I am curious what will happen if they have to go home or get seriously injured. They can be treated as criminals or heroes depending on their home country's laws (like the eight activists in Spain). They will be used for propaganda means and influencing governments and public view but in the end of the day probably we will hear about more volunteers from different nationalities and beliefs dying in places like Syria and Ukraine because globalization made traveling and consumption of news so easy that now it is much easier to enlist to fight in conflicts than in Finland or Spain in the thirties and still there is nothing new under the sun.
Volunteers on the Ukrainian side:
As we finished the previous list with Chechens let's begin with them. The "Dzokhar Dudaev peacekeeping battalion" named after the Chechen leader of the first Chechen-Russian war. Until his recent death the battalion was lead by Isa Munayev, the former military commander of Grozny (1999-2000). He told reporters that with their involvement in the war they are paying back debts to Ukrainians who helped Chechens in the war against Russia. In the battalion there are Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians, Azeris and Georgians serving. There is another Chechen unit fighting against the Russians called Sheikh Mansour, it broke away from the Dudayev group.
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| Insignia of the Dudayev btl. (source) |
As mentioned above there are around 100 Georgians fighting alongside the Ukrainian government and volunteer troops, many have previous military experience from the war in 2008 and international peace-keeping missions in Iraq and Afghanistan so many are providing training for Ukrainian personnel.
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| Gleb Garanich/Reuters |
There are many volunteers from Europe fighting in the ranks of the battalions formed during last year but the most infamous is the Azov which is led by a Ukrainian far-right activist Andriy Biletsky and includes Neo-Nazis from the Baltics, Italy, the UK, Russia, Italy, Belorussia and Sweden which gives tough moments to the Ukrainian government that is trying to gain international support and offers an easy target to Russian separatist propaganda that "tractorists and miners" are fighting nazis in Eastern Ukraine. According to other sources the 30% of the battalion is consisting of Ukrainians and Russians from Crimea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia verified the information recently about Croats fighting in Ukraine (mostly in the Azov). One of them made his journey via Budapest.
Concerning these people, fighting for something they believe in or for the money I am curious what will happen if they have to go home or get seriously injured. They can be treated as criminals or heroes depending on their home country's laws (like the eight activists in Spain). They will be used for propaganda means and influencing governments and public view but in the end of the day probably we will hear about more volunteers from different nationalities and beliefs dying in places like Syria and Ukraine because globalization made traveling and consumption of news so easy that now it is much easier to enlist to fight in conflicts than in Finland or Spain in the thirties and still there is nothing new under the sun.
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