cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/8671959
During the first days of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the International Legion of Ukraine was associated with volunteers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland. Today, that reality has changed: the most visible foreign presence on the Ukrainian front is predominantly Spanish-speaking, especially from Latin America.
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Colombians top the list by a wide margin. A UNITED24 Media report from February 2026 put the figure at approximately 7,000 Colombians serving in various Ukrainian formations, making them the largest national group of foreign volunteers in the country. They have joined the International Legion …
Alongside them is a smaller but politically significant unit: the Bolívar Battalion, formally established in August 2023 and named after Simón Bolívar. It is commanded by a Venezuelan, José David Chaparro Martínez, and comprises volunteers from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and Peru, along with some Ukrainians, Americans, and Australians. Its stated mission is not only combat but also counter-narrative …
As the battalion itself describes it, part of its work involves refuting Russian propaganda in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and American English media outlets, where such narratives have found unusually fertile ground. Spain has also sent its own volunteers, though their numbers are in the dozens rather than the thousands …
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Not Mercenaries: Debunking Russian State Media Narratives About Foreign Fighters in Ukraine
This distinction deserves to be repeated, because the Russian state media works very hard to erase it. Foreign volunteers in the Legion are not mercenaries. They are legally serving members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, enlisted under a formal contract, with ranks, pay scales, and the same rights and duties as any Ukrainian soldier in the same position. They are subject to Ukrainian military law. They wear Ukrainian uniforms. They answer to Ukrainian command. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has explicitly pointed out exactly this: foreigners who enter through the Legion become official members of the Ukrainian service, not contractors.
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