International Legion: What Motivates Ukraine’s Foreign Fighters

“To me, it was a simple decision. I wanted to come. I believe in the cause. It was worth it. So I came.”

Such are the words of a red-headed American from New Hampshire holding an assault rifle about why he now serves with the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and who is featured in a new film called “Summertime in Ukraine.”

Scheduled for global release later this month, the documentary by renowned Ukrainian production house, Babylon 13, follows a group of foreign volunteers through the process of enlisting, being trained, and being deployed into battle across one summer. The volunteers, many of them experienced soldiers, are from countries such as the United States, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Bulgaria and elsewhere.

The International Legion (IL) was formed by Presidential decree three days after the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale invasion to give foreigners an opportunity to participate in Ukraine’s defense. It consists of both infantry battalions and a “special tasks” battalion including recon, intelligence and special forces operations. IL soldiers are also often disbursed and embedded into other Ukrainian brigades, and are known to have fought in some of the war’s most difficult battles.

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During an interview with Kyiv Post, Volodymyr Tykhy, the film’s producer and director, said that a key aim of the film is to explore the mindset and motivation of foreigners who voluntarily choose to take up arms for Ukraine.

“As Ukrainians, it’s very interesting for us to understand guys who come here and are ready to die for Ukraine,” Tykhy said.

“There’s a stereotype that guys come here to opportunistically gain the practical military experience and then cash in on it by working for various international security firms. It turns out from talking to them that it’s not true,” he said.

Indeed, the volunteers interviewed for the film are not mercenaries in the purest sense, Tykhy added. He points out that IL soldiers earn no more than contracted Ukrainian soldiers – a maximum of about $4,800 per month, and that many IL alumni have chosen to remain in Ukraine after demobilizing. (Families of fallen soldiers receive a compensation of 15 million UAH, approximately $400,000.)

“The real driver isn’t material. They’re warriors. Warriors go to war. The prospect of peace for them is a misfortune,” Tykhy said. He agreed that IL soldiers can be seen as belonging to a modern-day samurai subculture that has a specific militaristic code.

Listening in on the conversation with Kyiv Post is Michel Ladys, the film’s editor who was working on the final cut.

“They’re war junkies and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. It’s the adrenaline of the whole war experience that explains who they are and what they do,” Ladys said.

But not all wars are the same it seems.

“To those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq… everything you thought you knew about war, stop thinking that,” an IL fighter says in the film’s trailer.

As for Tykhy, he does not back away from being a believer in the cause as well.

“Let’s face it. We’re part of an info war, too, whether it’s in America or England or elsewhere. As part of that, there’s always a need for fresh content, and we’re hopeful that the film gains attention,” he said.

“We let the guys tell their stories. People can judge them and the film from there,” Tykhy said.