Intl Legions not being disbanded, but transformed – Ministry of Defense
Ukraine values every foreign volunteer and is transforming its international legions to achieve maximum effectiveness, according to a statement published on the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense website on Friday in response to reports of the reorganization of foreign volunteer units.
"International Legions are not being disbanded, but rather transformed. It’s important to understand: the ‘International Legion’ is not a single specific military unit, but a general term for an entire network of volunteer formations operating within various structures of the Defense Forces. Most often, when people talk about the Legion, they’re referring to the infantry battalions within the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces, created at the beginning of the Great War to quickly host foreign volunteers. They are currently undergoing a transformation. However, they are not the only ones… In other words, the foreign volunteer movement in Ukraine is a vibrant, multifaceted organism that operates at all levels: from infantry to special forces, and its dissolution is out of the question," the statement reads.
The Ministry of Defense denied the claim that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ International Legions are being disbanded. "No, that’s not true. The International Legions are not disappearing. They are being transformed to become stronger. Instead of being separate ‘light’ battalions, the legionnaire units are being integrated into the effective and experienced brigades of the Armed Forces. They are now becoming part of a larger military organism," the statement notes.
Foreigners are being transferred to regular brigades "to provide them with better weapons and protection," the Defense Ministry stated. "Previously, legionnaires often acted as light infantry. As part of a large mechanized brigade, a foreign unit gains access to the resources and logistics of regular units. This ensures that the same combat missions are carried out with the reliable cover of heavy equipment available to a regular brigade," the Defense Ministry reported.
It was also reported that highly qualified specialists, particularly medics and drone operators, will continue to work in their respective fields. "No one will be hammering nails with a microscope. The army is interested in efficiency, so snipers, drone pilots, and paramedics will occupy corresponding positions in specialized companies of their new brigades. Moreover, a foreigner has the right to choose: if a Ukrainian Armed Forces brigade is not suitable for them, they can transfer to other forces—for example, to units of the Main Intelligence Agency, Special Operations Forces, or the National Guard, as mentioned above," the ministry added.
The Ministry of Defense noted that citizens of other countries who defend Ukrainian soil "have absolutely the same rights, social guarantees, and, most importantly, the same level of support and provision as Ukrainian soldiers."
A day earlier, independent MP Maryana Bezuhla reported the alleged disbandment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ International Legion. "Right now, the Ukrainian army is disbanding the International Legion. And do you know what one of the reasons is? As they’ve developed a doctrine that preserves human lives and prioritizes technology in the offensive," she said, speaking from the podium of the Verkhovna Rada.
On Facebook, the deputy reported that the previous Minister of Defense, now First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Denys Shmyhal, had allegedly signed and failed to amend the directive, and that the current head of the defense department, Mykhailo Fedorov, "hasn’t figured it out yet."
"The Legion developed a doctrine for drone assault operations similar to the liberation of Kupyansk, which was planned by the National Guard… Fewer casualties and greater effectiveness? The value of human life? Foreigners in the Ukrainian army? The country’s reputation? There is an understanding that foreigners must have motivation, ideology, conditions, and explanations, otherwise their contracts will simply be terminated? Who needs that? Now foreigners are being disbanded and transferred to assault units," Bezuhla asserts.
She asked Fedorov and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Pavlo Palisa "to publicly not remain indifferent and to look into the situation."
