XPost: or.politics, seattle.politics, ca.politics
XPost: alt.law-enforcement, sci.military.naval
Why are there so few international volunteers fighting in Ukraine?
I read:
As of February 2024, Ukrainian officials reported that around 20,000
foreign fighters from more than 50 countries were in Ukraine's
International Legion. However, some experts say that 4,000 was a more
realistic peak figure. In June 2023, the New York Times reported that
there were roughly 1,500 members in the International Legion.
AP News
Ukraine war: Hardened Colombian fighters answer ... - AP News
Feb 9, 2024 — Wounded Colombian veterans, who joined the Ukrainian armed forces to help fight...
Washington Post
Foreign troops in Ukraine? They’re already there. - The Washington Post
Feb 28, 2024
Business Insider
Ukraine International Legion: 2 Years on Many Are Disillusioned, ...
May 11, 2024 — Ukraine was a magnet for foreign fighters. After 2
bruising years, many are di...
Montreal Gazette
These Canadians made the ultimate sacrifice in Ukraine - Montreal Gazette
Apr 27, 2024 — Early reports that 20,000 foreign fighters had flooded
into Ukraine, more than...
The legion includes people from post-Soviet states like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as other countries such as Syria, Cuba, Nepal, and
India. Some volunteers were duped by human traffickers, while others
joined out of desperation to help their families. The first waves of
volunteers came mostly from post-Soviet or English-speaking countries.
In February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree allowing foreign citizens who legally reside in Ukraine to join the National
Guard, which is actively involved in the war against Russia.
Generative AI is experimental.
International Legion (Ukraine)
International Legion
Size 1,500–30,000 (2022–2023)
Motto(s) "Join the Brave" & "F"
There is a wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Legion_(Ukraine) ---------------------------------------------------------------------
But meanwhile, back in the Spanish Civil War there were large numbers.
from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_response_to_the_Spanish_Civil_War#International_volunteers
"Volunteers from many countries fought in Spain, most of them for the Republicans. About 32,000[143] fought in the International Brigades,
including the American Lincoln Battalion and the Canadian
Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion, which were organised in close conjunction
with the Comintern to aid the Spanish Republicans. Perhaps another
3,000[143] fought as members of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
(CNT) and the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) militias.
Those fighting with POUM most famously included George Orwell and the
small ILP Contingent. Around 2,000 Portuguese leftists fought for the Republicans and were spread throughout different units.[144]
"Spain" became the cause célèbre for the left-leaning intelligentsia
across the Western world, and many prominent artists and writers entered
the Republic's service. As well, it attracted a large number of foreign left-wing working-class men for whom the war offered not only an
idealistic adventure but also an escape from Great Depression
unemployment. Among the more famous foreigners participating for the
Republic was George Orwell, who went on to write about his experiences
in Homage to Catalonia. Orwell's novel Animal Farm was loosely inspired
by his experiences and those of other members of POUM at the hands of Stalinists when infighting arose within the Popular Front. His
experiences also inspired the torture scenes in his Nineteen
Eighty-Four. Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was
inspired by his experiences in Spain. George Seldes reported on the war
for the New York Post. The third part of Laurie Lee's autobiographical
trilogy, A Moment of War, is also based on his Civil War experiences.
Norman Bethune used the opportunity to develop the special skills of battlefield medicine. As a casual visitor, Errol Flynn used a fake
report of his death at the battlefront to promote his movies. In the Philippines, a pro-Republican magazine, Democracia, had writers,
including antifascist Spaniards, Filipino-Spaniards and Filipino
progressives such as Pedro Abad Santos, the chairman of the Socialist
Party of the Philippines, and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay, of the Philippine Independent Church.
International Brigades
Polish volunteers fighting for the Republic.
Probably 32,000 foreigners fought in the communist International
Brigades. An estimated 3,000 volunteers fought in other Republican
forces during the conflict. Additionally, about 10,000 foreigners
participated in medical, nursing and engineering capacities.[145]
The International Brigades included 9,000 Frenchmen, of whom 1,000 died;
5,000 Germans and Austrians, of whom 2,000 died; The third-highest
number was from Italy with 3,350 men. Then came Poland, with about 3,000
men. Then the United States (2,800 men with 900 killed and 1,500
wounded) and the United Kingdom (2,000 with 500 killed and 1,200
wounded). There were also 1,500 Czechoslovaks, 1,500 Yugoslavs, 1,500 Canadians, 1,000 Hungarians, and 1,000 Scandinavians (about half of whom
were Swedes), 100 Chinese also volunteered, as well as another 800
Swiss, 300 of whom would later be killed. The rest came from a claimed
53 countries[146] About 90 Mexicans participated,[147] and at least 80
Irishmen (fighting mostly within the International Brigades).[148]
Future Albanian Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu would also serve as a
volunteer for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.
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