The war between Ukraine and RussiafileThe first servicemen to respond to the call of the Ukrainian government have already arrived in the country.The question was asked on March 2, 2022.
On Sunday (February 27th), Ukraine invited “all foreigners who wish to join the resistance against the Russian occupiers and protect world security” to participate in an “international legion”, declaring itself to Ukrainian embassies in their countries. In several countries, such as Japan, Ukrainian missions stress that these volunteers must have “combat experience”. On March 1, Ukraine abolished the visa requirement for foreign volunteers to allow these rallies.
In some countries, the potential involvement of volunteers in battles on foreign soil requires legislative change, as in Latvia, where parliament passed a law to that effect on 28 February. On the Danish side, on the other hand, the Prime Minister stated that “nothing legal prevented at first sight [un citoyen] to go to Ukraine to take part in the conflict, on the Ukrainian side. “
Some countries accepted the Ukrainian call much colder. In Australia, for example, the authorities have officially advised their citizens not to take part in the conflict. “These unorganized civilian militias would be deployed [les volontaires] in the most extreme situations, “said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, for whom” it would be like taking part in something whose condition is completely unclear. ” Participation in a foreign conflict can expose citizens to sanctions when they return to Australia.
On behalf of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country “did not actively support” the commitment of volunteers to Ukraine shortly after Foreign Minister Liz Truss publicly spoke out in support of such initiatives.
Ukraine has embassies in most European countries, as well as in twenty-nine countries in Asia, eleven in Africa, eight in the United States and Australia. At present, it remains difficult to fully define the countries in which the call was made. However, several national media outlets have been echoing recordings since earlier this week.
Thus, according to a census conducted by the daily Svenska Dagbladet at the embassy in Stockholm, 400 Swedes have already registered as volunteers in the Ukrainian army on March 1. The first volunteers were due to arrive on Thursday, March 3rd.
On the same date, 70 Japanese asked to become volunteers, according to the Mainichi Shimbun, quoted by Reuters. There were also 115 volunteers in Niger, according to the Nigerian website The Guardian. In the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom, the press has collected the testimonies of many volunteers without knowing their numbers.
On the French side, the press presented a number of testimonies. A private Facebook page entitled “French Volunteers in Ukraine” was set up on Saturday, February 26, with about 100 members on Sunday and 7,400 on March 3. A DGSI team will closely monitor these groups of volunteers on Facebook, according to Europe 1, which recalls that workers at home “may be involved in mercenaries or associations with terrorist criminals if their actions in Ukraine are contrary to French law”.
On March 3, Telegram accounts promoting the International Legion initiative reported the presence of the first Spanish volunteers in Ukraine. Instagram posts on Friday, February 25, also suggest that US citizens have already taken the side of investing in the conflict, even before the call from Kyiv.
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