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Foreign fighters became disillusioned when they fought in Ukraine 5
Some foreign fighters came to Ukraine thinking that this was an easy war, causing them to not have time to adapt to the harsh reality and die.
When the war between Russia and Ukraine first broke out, thousands of foreigners, most of whom were veterans, went to Ukraine to register to join the International Legion at Kiev’s call.
Many of them have served in Western armies, fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and are accustomed to fighting opponents who are inferior in every aspect.
But when they went into battle, facing the overwhelming Russian army in both numbers and weapons, they were stunned and unable to adapt to the harsh reality of the conflict, an anonymous American veteran said during the interview.
`Many Westerners come to Ukraine because they want to become heroes,` this person said.
The American veteran said he himself had the same mindset when he first started fighting here, but that quickly changed.
British volunteers fight for the Ukrainian army in the city of Lviv in March 2022.
He started taking up arms for Ukraine when the war broke out at the end of February 2022 and left the country in December of the same year.
Previously, this veteran had worked as a mercenary in Iraq after leaving the US army.
`You can still be hit by rockets even if you’re miles behind the front lines,` the veteran said.
Many other US veterans also made similar comparisons about the situation in Ukraine.
A veteran nicknamed Jackie, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, said late last year that he could not find a place to rest while fighting on the Bakhmut front.
According to an anonymous US veteran, Western fighters need to try to learn how to adapt to the real situation in Ukraine if they want to survive.
`You have to be willing to relearn everything you’ve been taught, which I think is one of the reasons why some Ukrainian soldiers are doing so well out there. They don’t have any basis to need to relearn.`
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A platoon of Americans and French people fighting for Ukraine in a photo posted in July 2022.
The application of Western tactics to the Ukraine conflict has repeatedly been questioned about its effectiveness.
However, when encountering Russia’s dense minefield, NATO-style tactics went bankrupt, a series of tanks and armored vehicles were stopped and destroyed in front of the enemy’s lines.
Many soldiers and experts believe that applying NATO-style training methods to Ukrainian soldiers is inappropriate and needs to be changed.
`They need to abandon everything they have learned to fight in the conflict,` the American veteran said.
There are no exact figures on how many foreign fighters have come to Ukraine to fight or have died here.
Ukrainian officials say about 20,000 foreign volunteers have registered to join the International Legion, but experts estimate the actual number is about 4,000.
Some survivors returning from Ukraine say they were used as `pawns` to hold back the enemy.
In addition to Ukraine, many foreigners are also believed to be fighting for Russia in the conflict.
The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed at the end of February that about 20 Indian citizens were `trapped` in the Russian army due to being tricked by broker services into fighting in Ukraine.
Wilmer Puello-Mota, a US veteran and former local civil servant in Massachusetts, signed a contract to join the Russian armed forces in April, after defecting due to accusations of storing nude photos of minors.