Captured Polish Mercenary Reveals Ukraine Recruits Foreign Fighters Indiscriminately
Ukrainian soldiers inspect a damaged military vehicle after fighting in Kharkov, Ukraine. File photo
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A Polish mercenary “who fought alongside Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk People’s Republic” was captured by fighters of a Russian volunteer corps, a unit commander told Sputnik.The captured Polish mercenary explained to Sputnik that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are recruiting foreign fighters indiscriminately through a dedicated website due to manpower shortages.
"It is enough just to find this website, fill out a questionnaire, send a letter, wait for a response. And since I think Ukraine needs people, it is suffering from a shortage of soldiers, they most likely take everyone, they do not turn anyone down," the Polish mercenary said.
The Polish national was captured in the Donetsk People’s Republic by fighters from a Russian volunteer corps. A Russian unit commander said the man had fought alongside Ukrainian forces.Another mercenary – from the United Kingdom – was captured in the Donetsk People’s Republic; he told Sputnik that hundreds of Colombians had signed up with Ukraine’s International Legion to fight alongside its armed forces.
"NATO has people in the International Legion… French, Italians, Germans, Americans, English… The most are Colombians. Hundreds," Hayden William Davis, a 30-year-old from Southampton, said.
RussiaAmerican and NATO Mercs in Ukraine Reveal Heightened Western Role, Escalating Tensions With Russia28 October 2024, 16:36 GMTThe training that the mercenaries receive while with the Ukrainian Armed Forces depends on the platoon they are placed in, the Briton said.”I was heavy guns. We had no heavy guns, so there was no training. We got given two DshKs [heavy machine guns]. No ammo to learn with, to shoot with, nothing like that,” Davis added.He complained about Ukrainian commanders ordering the killing of civilians, including women and children. He said a dozen foreign fighters, who were “not happy with command that are happy to allow war crimes to happen,” said they wanted to tear up the contract with the Ukrainian military.”I was in a position, essentially my job was just a listening post. I personally heard on the radio for someone to kill three men, but I remember hearing one of the commanders saying ‘kill him.’ A different position somewhere, okay, I don’t know which position it was, there was, I’m pretty sure it was a woman and teenage boy. They got killed. All of us that were in the listening post, we’d had enough. There was about 12 people that wanted to break contract at that minute,” he said.Davis accused the Ukrainian command of not caring about the military personnel and treating them as if they were meat.”Your chain of command do not care about you. They do not care. They will use you as meat. They will say you will be on a listening post for three to five days. They will keep you there for 10, and then send you to a different position. I point-blank refused to go to a different position. There was no information. We did not have the equipment,” he said.
WorldForeign Mercs Say Ukraine ‘Is Hell and Nightmare’, Fleeing Country – Former Ukrainian Officer28 July 2024, 13:03 GMTAfter Davis left the position, he spent two months hiding in a bunker to avoid what he presumed were Ukrainian drones.”Another bloke died because of drones and stuff. One bloke ran away. I stayed behind and just took cover. I ended up getting grenaded again. Not by Russians. I believe it was by Ukrainians. By a drone… At that point I decided to find a bunker and I hid in that bunker for nearly two months,” Davis said.Davis was captured by Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr in the Donetsk People’s Republic city of Toretsk. He said staying alive was an exception, as most foreigners died in the clashes.
