US citizens seek joining mercenaries in Ukraine

• 

Up to 100 US citizens have qualified for participation in military activities in Ukraine, including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the AP news agency reported on Thursday, citing Ukrainian Defense Attaché Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi.

"They feel that they have to go and help," Kremenetskyi told the news agency.

The candidates include some helicopter pilots and others with combat experience from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington has received about 6,000 inquiries on voluntary services, launching an examination of the potential US recruits, according to the report.

However, the embassy rejected half of the candidates for different reasons, such as unsuitable age, and absence of military experience.

Late in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the formation of an "international legion," which would reinforce the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian forces. Later, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed that the entry of these militants into Ukraine "will be simplified to the maximum extent possible."

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss backed the Ukrainian authorities' appeal, saying that if people want to support Ukraine's struggle "for freedom and democracy," she would "support them in doing that." But her position was later dismissed by UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who noted that Britons are advised not to visit Ukraine at all, joining combat operations being dangerous and deadly. And so did Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin, who that sending Britons to fight against Russia in Ukraine is "illegal and unhelpful."

US citizens seek to join foreign fighters in Ukraine

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine has given US citizens the pretext to be recruited to fight in Ukraine.

A small embassy in Washington became a recruiting center. Diplomats are working at a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, fielding thousands of offers from volunteers looking to fight against Ukraine, while working to secure weapons. 

Read more: NYP provides info on how to fight in Ukraine

The US militants hungry for war represent just a tiny fraction of the international mercenaries that have flowed into the country. 

This comes after close to 450 extremist Arab and foreign nationals have arrived in Ukraine from Idlib to fight against Russia's forces, less than only three days after they left Syria, passing through Turkey.

Relatives of extremists that have arrived in Ukraine told Sputnik that senior fighters from terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (the rebranded version of Jabhat Al-Nusra, i.e Al-Qaeda) have held a number of meetings with senior leaders in the Turkistan Islamic Party group and Ansar Al-Tawhid and Hurras Al-Din groups, and agreed on allowing a number of all their fighters to enter Ukraine through Turkish soil.

The sources added that most of these foreign fighters are veterans of the Syrian war, had been causing issues in Idlib, and were given this opportunity to fight against Russia as a compromise by which they would receive a new start and with an acceptable income.

Around 300 of these fighters are Syrian nationals that are originally from the Idlib and Aleppo countrysides, while the 150 others are Belgian, French, Chinese, Moroccan, Tunisian, Chechen, and British nationals.

Since Putin declared the beginning of a special operation in Ukraine, the Embassy in Washington has heard from at least 6,000 people inquiring about volunteering for service, the “vast majority” of them American citizens, said Kremenetskyi.

Half the potential volunteers were quickly rejected and didn’t even make it to the Zoom interview, the general said. They lacked the required military experience, had a criminal background, or weren’t suitable for other reasons such as age.

The Ukrainian government says about 20,000 foreigners from various nations have already joined.