A big thanks to Ridge Wallet for sponsoring the animation work in today’s video. Here’s their site if you want to check them out ridge.com/taskandpurpose
I wish I'd joined the national guard my junior year instead of waiting for graduation this year. I would have had training and probably joined to defend the innocent women and children AKA refugees to the safer western side of the country. Though I graduate in a few months and am joining up anyway, sure, I'll be in Europe or Asia soon enough anyway.
Small correction: Spanish volunteers weren't only fighting against fascists. It was all around FFA. Communist volunteers, fascist volunteers, republican volunteers et cetera. Basically a total mess.
I voluntarily served in Ukraine and originally was to join the International Legion. After a few days with them, seeing how much of a total gong show the unit was, me and several others left. I then linked up with a volunteer medical battalion under the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence called the Hospitallers. As a medic and rescue tech for industry back home, and former soldier, the Hospitallers were happy to have me, and they treated me quite well. The long and the short of it, the International Legion is decent if you have combat experience and are up to date on combat operations. But unless you can prove yourself to them immediately, it’s probably not a good option. There are other programs in Ukraine accepting international volunteers, but from my knowledge the Hospitallers are among the best. Just make sure you are completely up to date with TCCC & weapons handling, otherwise you will be relegated as a driver: a position they already have a healthy surplus of.
@@mikhail2446 speaking of family and kids, clearly your parents raised you quite poorly, skipping the cliche but all too true saying “if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all”. I chose to set a good example for for my son, standing up for what I believe in and offering my assistance in saving lives in the face of the pure evil that is the Russian military. Your words are the words of both ignorance and cowardice, yet you think you’re better than me by criticizing my efforts to help a innocent country defend itself from crimes against humanity and invasion from an evil Autocrat.
@@thesmellycrap4929 I am glad to hear they were humble enough to effect some positive changes. I got there in May, and yes, gong shot was an understatement. It is impressive to hear you, & others, did stick it out 🫡
I've met foreign legionnaires during Kharkiv offensive near city of Balakliya. Most of them were from Scotland and Ireland. I noticed that their training level and fighting skills much further than ours (national guard of Ukraine). They helped us as we trapped in minefields , gave my wounded brothers-in-arms medical care they needed , disarmed a lot of OZM-72 antipersonnel mines to clear safe path. Legionnaires are people of courage and honour, I respect and proud that they fight side by side with us against russia. Excuse me for bad English
My grandmother told how she rebuilt Kharkov after your last attack in the 1940s. And I have to restore again, after you are destroyed :( History repeats itself in a spiral and the Nazis do not learn anything.
@@MultiNike79 You have this absurd idea that Ukrainians are Nazis. This is pure projection. Russia is far, far closer to the kind of nation that Germany was during WWII.
Colombian volunteers poured in from the beginning. My brother has been fighting since the war started he is former Colombian Special Forces 🇨🇴 God bless all 🙏
Just want to address some things as an ex-Foreign Legion member operating under GUR. 1. The legion gets bad equipment - No. the legion gets better equipment than the Ukrainians most of the time. It’s just not handed out to every unit. There are units who have been proven in combat, they get everything they ask for. When I left I had a suppressor, laser, high rise mounted optic, and $7000 pair of RNVGs with dual peltor comtacs and an AMP mount, baofengs, Motorolas, and ATAK phones. We had any equipment we asked for within a month or two. 2. We get sent on suicide missions. - No. Ukraine is not America, they do not have the capacity to support an operation like America does. When we went out, we had no medical support because there was no medical support. There were no aircraft, the QRF was a unit on the frontline that just took casualties from a shelling, and they had no one to come get us - most of the time. We were the best trained soldiers in that battle space, and Ukraine employed us as such. The missions were dangerous, but we accomplished them nonetheless despite rampant desertions from a lot of other foreigners, US included. It was a real war, not like the last decade of Iraq or Afghanistan. TLDR: Foreigners get good equipment and are not sent on suicide missions.
So you jumped from one despicable fight to another, congrats. At least you backed it up with action. If the empty suits in D.(. were required to the world would be much more peaceful.
Lindybeige recently interviewed a British foreign fighter who was at the Yavoriv base when it was bombed for those interested. He also covers some other topics about the foreign volunteers in Ukraine in a series of interviews.
That is an amazing interview, he did the interview because they are friends if I remember correctly. There is also a shorter interview before he goes to Ukraine where he says one of the reasons he voluntered is because he thinks wars should be fought by the middled aged not the young
“The reason transnational volunteers sign up to fight against Russia often is because their ideological beliefs within their own state failed them. Many American Iraq and Afghanistan veterans feel that the fight in Ukraine was what they wished they were fighting for in the global war on terror.” Just casually dropping some weapons-grade truth here.
for some its like being an exterminator going in to kill cock roaches. do you try to relate to a cock roach? nope you just step on it and move on. because of international legion multitudes of cock roaches were sent home in body bags so they wont go home to lay eggs and make more cock roaches. they did humanity a favor.
I am helping a battalion and another unit of the Legioners. At this point they’re supplied with everything, and I help them with some specific and urgent requests + financing cars repairs. I know the commander of this battalion, he’s an experienced, good and very careful guy. He cares about each one of his boys. Just saying. We are deeply grateful to each and every foreign volunteer.
These are older issues highlighted by the Kyiv Independent and I hope the government addressed them. Even Poland is seeking their citizen for crimes committed in Poland. As anti-corruption goes, this highlights that you as an individual should speak out if you see an incompetent commander, so these issues are fixed or join a unit that works like the Georgian Legion.
I think thar if i am commanded by an incompetent corrupt old man, i would probably execute him right on the spot, he is sending me to die anyways, lets drag him and all his supporters with me
Dude, people ARE speaking up. They are filing proper reports on bad commanders of all levels. Yet nothing is done about it. There is an interview here on YT about it. One volunteer arrived with a personal €30K sniper rifle that he was required to have stored in the common weapons-bunker over night before being sent out into combat the next day. Guess what? The rifle was gone next morning. They reported the shady mf who was in control of the bunker-locker, who clearly lied about not knowing anything about any fancy high tech sniper rifle, to the Ukrainian Military Intelligence and the Police. Nothing. Absolutely nothing was done about it. This was in Kyiv. It's a total shit show over there. This type of corruption is a major problem with every country formerly under Communist rule: The people become frighteningly corrupt. Look at the Baltic states, Poland, Chezh Republic, etc. All corrupt to the core, just like the people in Russia, China etc. It's getting better though, but it takes time. Not until the old and permanently corrupted generations die off and younger people, who didn't live under the corrupting influence of communism, grow up and take the reigns of their country does the corruption and nepotism slowly go away. But it takes about 2-3 generations. Until then. It's a total shitshow. How do i know this? Well... i live nearby.
@@nonamegiven2024 Guessing u serve(d) in RF forces, or some other, incompetent, backwards forces that are immune to feedback based improvement. Where did you serve/been on Ops for real ?
@@nonamegiven2024 Sasha makes a mockery of the country of Ukraine. For this and more I would give him summary execution with no trial. You are used to such tactics in Russia, just used against people that didn't deserve it. Go read the Gulag Archipelago and learn a bit about Putin's roots.
I read from an American volunteer that he got redemption for the war in Iraq, where he was seen and called an "invader". He helped liberate towns in Ukraine and was proud to be called a liberator and was thanked by the civilians.
@@ruthrobles4594 Obviously you don’t get to talk with many Kurds. It’s only thanks to the US invasion of Iraq that Iraqi Kurds (who supported the Americans immediately) now have been able to obtain the most similar thing to a fully independent country that they ever had in their entire history. By contrast in the late 1980s and early 1990s various districts of Iraqi Kurdistan were razed by Saddam Hussein, who sent the aptly named “Chemical Alí” to bomb Kurdish towns and villages with gas and chemical weapons… so yeah, it always depends in these cases.
@@adolfolerito6744 oh yeah? I'm sure if you approach a resident of kurdistan right now or a fighter of the ypg they will call the Americans brave and willing to fight for freedom😂😂the peshmerga, with the help of special forces, fought for their own country, and held their own country. Recent events tell the true position of the americans on any rebel movement that is at odds in any way to us interest
my buddy fought for ukraine last year from march til august and was treated great, once they knew he was a former marine sniper he was given the best they could get for him because they knew what the had and he proved his worth. He went there because he doesnt like Russia or what they stand for and still says they are the worst trained troops hes ever fought and has fought in iraq and afghanistan. Still insists in a conventional war the us could defeat Russia in under 2 weeks as well given what hes seen as far as russian military in ukraine
So if the US could defeat Russia in 2 weeks , why they are not doing it ? It would be much cheaper than paying all these billions to Ukraine !! Or maybe your friend clearly lacks military knowledge and thats why he ran out of Ukraine !
It's precious he thinks a administration in Washington lead by a senile idiot and a woke as F military leadership that shouldn't be trusted with a potato gun could lead a successful war... 2 decades in Afghanistan and Iraq proved NATO not just the US is not as strong as we are sold. And that's with leadership that isn't as much of clown show that we have now and makes us the laughing stock of the world..
Putin's constant nuclear posturing is proof enough that Russia is ill-equipped to win a conventional war against any decent military. Obviously, Russians & naive people online can say whatever they want, but there's a very obvious reason Russia's only behind North Korea in terms of how often they waves nukes around every chance they get. They're not confident in anything else they have and are afraid if they don't repeatedly remind everyone "bUt nUkEs!" every 2 seconds, then they'll get destroyed.
I remember watching some Russian POW being interviewed by Ukrainian journalists, and many of them said that “they were captured by foreign mercenaries”. When the journalists explained that those people were not “mercenaries” (for whom Ukraine simply doesn’t have the money) but international volunteers, the POWs were dumbfounded as to why so many people from India, America or Western Europe would leave the safety of their usually rich countries, in order to risk their lives for Ukraine’s survival! They really couldn’t even conceive that, when you invade a far smaller country to literally CONQUER it, people around the world don’t see you as “the good guys”…
Zolkin explained the difference between mercenaries and international volunteers from the point of view of the law. Every volunteer becomes a part of UAF and must be treated as every other ukrainian soldier
This never happened (I had to list almost all of the POWs footage that came from this war). Stop spreading such lies. "dumbfounded that people came to help the "good guys"", damn you are really naive. ^^ As someone who actually lived in Ukraine, i cringe when i see some of the westerners that believe that this war is a Marvel movie. x)
Cappy my grandfather fought against Franco in the Spanish civil war too. He had some crazy experiences in that war and it shaped the lives of that whole side of my family as my grandmother was sent away from Spain as a child at the outbreak of the war to Mexico. Once Franco won my grandfather eventually made his way to Mexico to escape persecution under Franco’s regime.
Not to be a troll or speak negatively but if your grandfather fought against Franco and the Fascist then he was a fighting for the communists and anarchists?
I think there's another very relevant aspect to foreign fighters leaving. The war is now more than a year old. I don't think we can judge foreign fighters for deciding they've done enough for someone else's country.
The last big war here lasted 4 years. Then, too, the Europeans got tired and stopped fighting. The problem is that when Europeans come to Russia, they destroy everything and make a Holocaust, and when Russia comes to Europe, it simply teaches us to live in a civilized way. Therefore, Europeans are not afraid of Russians - they know that if they are not offended, they will be taught tolerance, peaceful coexistence and other achievements. Stupid historical cycle, again entered the period of the Western Holocaust. I hoped people got better.
Someone else's country that has routinely showed a disregard for the foreign volunteers in their usage, safety, equipment and organization* Its one thing to be drafted and have to fight for people who are incompetent. Its another to voluntarily stay to take part in the Nepotism Express Lane straight to the graveyard. Its a massive PR win to have all those people showing up to defend your country as the bastion of liberal democratic values David against an authoritarian state Goliath. Most of it is lost when you start letting those men be killed needlessly because of an inter-service pissing match spawned from appointing commanders in a manner that closely resembles how things are handled in an authoritarian state. You know, letting international criminals hide in your country and have command positions is definitely common practice in Russia, and Ukraine copying it looks very, very bad. Even if its only small number who died that way, its unacceptable and hurts their image.
I tried joining the Ukrainian foreign legion a bit after the war started ( March 5th) but I never got to Ukraine. I ended up changing my mind half way there and went back. Seeing as I have no military training whatsoever I would probably just have been a burden for the Ukrainians but I still feel like a bit of a coward for not going all the way. At least Poland was nice.
You did the right thing. I dont have military training either but have "other skills" that can be useful in war. Some of my friends (some of them Russian) asked me why I didnt go to Ukraine to help with that skillset. The thing is that as long as we keep supplying Ukraine with weapons I'd be pretty much useless and I dont want to be a burden. I'll go as a tourist when the war if over and visit the friends I have left there.
In Ireland our laws concerning fighting in foreign armies are extremely loose, in that they don't exist. As long as you are not part of an organisation declared illegal in Ireland like ISIS or Al-Qaeda you can join freely with no restrictions. Foreign armies can't actively recruit in Ireland but people frequently travel abroad to join the military, most notably in the British army where there are thousands of Irish citizens, as well as the US military and French Foreign Legion. Also with your mention of the Spanish civil war about a thousand Irish citizens fought in the war, most of them fought for Franco as part of the Irish brigade. We have a long history of the "Wild Geese", a nickname for Irishmen travelling abroad to fight in foreign armies that has existed since the Crusades and continues to this day. So even though it is not on any lists concerning the legality of foreigners joining the Ukrainian military, lads joining the Ukrainian army is perfectly legal in Ireland and a good few have gone.
@@eldorados_lost_searcher traditionally it referred to going to continental armies, but since the 19th century it has generally referred to going abroad to fight in general. People don't talk about it much but most families will have had someone who joined the British army.
Not the 30%of Ukrainians that are Russian. Why do you want the people of Luhansk to go back to Ukraine when they voted to join Russia? Don't you believe in Democracy?
That is really heart breaking to hear Afghan soldiers are joining up with Russia because they felt abandoned by the US. I mean I totally get it, but it just really really is sad to hear.
they want to fight the nato guys who hung them out to dry after hyping bagram airbase so much. will be funny when the afghan guy ends up waterboarding his former american captor lol.
Abandoned they couldn't even hold their country for a few months. They had 20 years of hand holding and never once took the initiative or showed any real effort in fighting. Obviously some of the sf units fought and fought hard but the regular army units in Afghanistan were cowards.
Yugoslavs that fought in Spanish civil war then had huge combat experience during ww2 and they were the only resistance force that liberated its own country. These guys were pretty badass once the war started
Dang, Cappy, I didn't even make the connection until now about the Spanish Civil War and Ukraine. I'm with you. I hope this isn't the prequel to a larger conflict...say, with China, further down the road...
Curiously I have relatives who have fought on both sides od the spanish civil war. Except that only the one was the volonteer. My grandfather's brother was an actual soldier in the Italian army and died fighting for Franco. What an absurd affair that was.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 Go kick rocks! At the begining of the civil war Spain had a population of 20 million people. The comunist party had only 18.000 members and was absolutely power- and meaningles. Only after two years of war, in wich de democracys of the world refused to help the legitimate republican goverment (something they would deepely regret when it got their turn to fight a nazi Germany they could have weakened in Spain), while MUSOLINI and HITLER totally suported the rebels, the republican authorities gave in to the demands of the Soviet Union, and put the local comunists in key positions in order to get the support of the USSR. Stop spreading fascist propaganda..... Franco and his comrades almost caused what the said they wanted to avoid. Even the USA embasador in Spain at the time of the civil war aknowlegded later that THERE WAS NEVER A CHANCE OF A COMMUNIST COUP DE ETAT IN SPAIN before the civil war.
I have a classmate from college who served in the 🇳🇿 New Zealand Army from 2011 to 2017, was deployed to 🇹🇱 East Timor and 🇦🇫 Afghanistan during his time in the NZ Army and later travelled to Europe to fight in Ukraine last year in 2022. When he returned home back in January, we asked why he opted to go to 🇺🇦 Ukraine in the first place. Apparently he opted to fight in Ukraine because he didn't have much for him here at home. According to him he had trouble holding a job, kept going on & off the benefit (welfare), had a bit of a drinking problem, his fiancee left him whilst he was deployed to East Timor and just didn't quite fit in with society after his time in the army.
In their hearts, they are with Ukraine. Brave soldiers who fought in the war who would love to be able to go out and fight for Ukraine. God bless them.
Should of mention Freedom of Russia Legion as one of the Ethnic Russian units working with Ukrainian Foreign Legion. Many of them are not only defectors, but also foreign Russians like me who are against Russian government and their imperial ambitions.
@@luminaaeterna1259 Eh "Good Russian" is kind of misnomer. It is derogatory term for Russian Opposition members who are not any different from Putler and his cronies. As in the ones with imperial ambitions. This is why some organizations like Russian Volunteer Corps exist, even though they are technically sub organization of Azov but of ethnic Russians.
My experience in the wars in the former Yugoslavia was that foreign volunteers were mostly guys trying to escape from their wives or else from a tedious, meaningless life. A lot of Brits who were on the dole were volunteers. They were guys trying to prove to themselves that they weren't cowards. A motley bunch for sure.
What was even better is that he mentioned corruption in the foregin legion and "Sasha". Kyiv independent have two articles about this and both are a good and terryfing read.
Davide Rodogno (2.30 paper author) was my prof in Geneva, Switzerland :) very very very professional, funny and good teacher. What a surprise :) (cheers from Hungary, and Slava Ukraini!!)
I served with the international legion but was wounded during the attack in Yavoriv on March 13 2022. I have a lot of insight on to what happened, and how the legion operates as a whole (from my experience).
The clip at 10.50ish was a disproven clip used by Russian trolls. It was used in the Czech Republic as part of a movie, but the Russians, not Ukranians as stated, made it out like the Ukranians were using it
It sucks feeling so helpless. I’d be less than useless in combat off on an Xbox and yeah, I’ve emails my senators telling them my whole family is willing to send whatever tax dollars Ukraine needs to defend their country but there isn’t really much I can do. Glory to all the brave soldiers who actually go.
Lol sending dollars to someone who you don't know and what they truly stand for. Just because you government tells you to. Freedom btw. More like blatant propaganda.
It is often doubtful if volunteers provide a positive net gain - in terms of combat effectiveness for resources spent But from a propaganda perspective they're invaluable The importance of boosting morale is no small thing
is mostly a political gain, moral drops when different types of forces, specially international are added. Hell in the army moral grinds to a halt when you are told that the unit supporting you is a National Guard unit.
I'd argue that they are some of the most valuable. If they get shot, send them home. Most have Healthcare systems that you don't have to provide. Treat them well ? They're top tier for motivation considering how far they were will to travel to join. From a leadership standpoint. They have so much value that's unfortunately due to being able to take advantage of them... but what else are soldiers for ?
Why ? Some people don't like that a small country has been brutally and mercilessly attacked by a country 20 times its size. But most are descendants of people whom Russia has hurt in the past. Russia has left its merciless mark on virtually every country it borders on. Practically starting from Finland and ending with Korea, people from these countries have suffered numerous brutal and merciless wrongs in just the last 100 years. Deportations, extermination camps, mass executions, NKVD prisons and similar places saw practically all people from countries neighboring Russia
Chris, I was so surprised that your great grandfather died in the Spanish Civil War. I'm of Spanish descent as well, and it was the Spanish Civil War that sent us back to the United States. My grandfather came to the US from having lived in Cuba from age 12 to 24, after having gone to Cuba from the northwestern coast of Galicia, Spain. He was a foreman and manager in a hand made cigar factory in Tampa, Florida when mechanized cigar making bankrupted the cigar company where he worked. He returned to the seaside town in Spain for my grandma who was also from there. The fascists established a foothold in the town next door where they took over most of the functions of the elected government by wearing military style uniforms, bullying everyone, doing physical violence, murders and later public executions. Our Spanish-American family was too much of an example of democracy and so they began to harass my family. My family tried to stay neutral, but it didn't work. After my dad was brought into the Falangists office for saying something like "It is not our job as students to get involved in politics. Our job is to work on our studies." I guess this falls in line with the idea if you are not with us you are against us fascist mentality??? This was somehow wrong. Only loyal fascists allowed. Because my dad had helped the Falangists leader's son once, he pretended to beat my dad by whipping his riding boots behind the closed door in his office. That night, as my family thought about what to do, someone shot and killed my dad's dog in front of their house. That night my grandfather gathered the family and made their way to a big city on the coast and booked passage back to America on an ocean liner. My uncle Ernest stayed behind to help the State Department get Spanish-Americans, who were now in trouble from the fascists, out of Spain. The Falangistas ended up going on a rampage killing anyone they thought was a troublemaker. A group of young fascists from the fascists town next door went looking for the star soccer players of my family's town who had kept them from winning a championship TO KILL THEM! They paraded woman accused of being loose naked and chained on a truck bed. ??? My uncle managed to get a few Spaniards who had American ties out with the US consulate in Vigo. My grandfather told my family that even though we were on a ship headed for the free world, to not talk about anything that went on or politics while on the ship. Sure enough the ship made an unscheduled stop in the Canary Islands where those that talked openly against the fascists were taken off the ship. It is hard for us Americans to comprehend what it's like living under fascism/totalitarianism. Let's pray we never do.
Thank-you for the interesting story. I moved to Spain a few years ago and was surprised by how much this Franco era still casts a shadow over the country. I am living in an area that was a republican stronghold until near the end of the war. They still find mass graves from time-to-time. There is a very good movie "El sustituto" that I would recommend to anyone interested in this Franco time. It tells the story of the German Nazis who were protected by Franco.
I think i drove past that factory going to school. I am happy your family survived. I dont know what put my family in the US, excluding my grandmother who is conquistador blood, but i hope it was willing
Thanks for sharing this story, especially since a surprising amount of people both in and outside of spain still defend francos regime in spite of the terrible atrocities it commited. I know that the republicans also weren't saints in many instances but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as with the nationalists. It's a shame how inside of spain francos shadow is still very much present and how many people are still brainwashed by its propaganda to defend it
This was a really well researched piece- the historical context about other conflicts was really helpful to understand the manpower issues. The reportage about the corruption and incompetence of the Ukrainians was covered very diplomatically. Good work Cappy!As always great sense of humor Chris. 🙌🏽
Well, the West has its own history, based on Marvel comics. It has nothing to do with the real one. It's funny that similar events have been repeated for about 10 times over the past 400 years. Some infernal evil European (Polish king, Napoleon, Kaiser, Hitler, Biden) comes and starts killing local people. Then the Russians crush him. You can take literature 150 years ago and it will fully describe current events: again evil from the West, the destruction of the region, again help comes from Moscow to save people from destruction by foreigners.
Technically, due to totalitarianism in the United States, it is forbidden to present real events. Therefore, he has to speak very carefully so as not to be forbidden.
In other words "In Syria and Iraq we could play the Rambo part cause the enemy had nothing, but in Ukraine we are facing a real army who actually has real equipment". Nothing like in the movies isn't it.
Actually - Iraq had weapons on the level currently employed by Russia or better (which isn't saying much considering they send T55 from forties to front line now). They army just wasn't willing to fight for Saddam or they "country" (which borders were drawn by British not considering local population which caused three hostile to each other ethniticies suddenly becoming citizens of Iraq), were poorly trained and badly lead. Also - USA has no.1 military without close second. You'd have to be an idiot to blame them for having superior technology and using them to minimize casualities on their side....
I think you did fairly well in highlighting both the good and the bad that happens around foreign fighters. The Polish dude with a fake name and a criminal record reminded me how there was a Finnish article similar to the one in Kyiv Independent that raised issues of Ukraine troops' tactical capabilities. If what was told by the one named Finnish volunteer and the two unnamed ones were accurate or not, I wouldn't know, but the named guy turned out to be a crook with massive embezzlement charges.
I was so shocked to know about your great-grandfather's sacrifice and therefore, as a spaniard follower of yours, I just wanted to sincerely thank you and your family. Time certainly passes but gratitude remains. (I'm guessing he was probably part of the Lincoln Battalion which iirc reunited most of young brave american fighters).
I know 3 🇨🇦friends who went over and didn’t stay long. They felt being foreigners they were seen as disposable and expendable. Thrown into the meat grinder. That’s why Wally the 🇨🇦sniper didn’t stay long. They were not used in the right way. All those above were trained and experienced infantry combat veterans.
He said he was not going to shoot Russians, just serve as a spotter. I watched his interview. With that attitude you expect something else? My 2 collegues went there since the start and are coming back after regular visits home. They are coming back to recharge batteries and buy some equipment for newbies. In general they do not complain about their gear, they were given everything once they showed willingness to fight. Just like others wrote in comments. Granted, Wally could have his reasons to not shoot, just put yourself in shoes of Ukrainians. Anyway, respect for all Canadian soliders, I have heard only good words about you guys.
That's not the experience of people I know who are still there. Stories I hear some people just weren't mentally ready for full blown near peer conflict. It's not like these low intensity conflicts prepare you for getting shelled and bombed all day.
7:47 I try to explain this to people all the time, and they just don't get it. A OPFOR that has these capabilities is not something that many people have experience with, and it's likely to demoralize any who assumed that it would be like previous engagements.
Not all, Only the military veterans who provided actual help to the ukrainians, not the bunch of war tourist who becomes more of a liability than a helping hand
You probably don't know the story. Europeans with their genocide came to the territory of Rus' many times. And each time it ended badly for them. All sorts of fascists, Nazis, Hitlers, Napoleons and other evil spirits. Why do you keep repeating the same thing over and over? Slaughter people, burn cities? Why are Europeans unable to live peacefully and respect others until Russia stands above them?
Some, not all. Those men who left their families to risk their lives for a foreign cause are the opposite of heroes, and should be shamed for shirking their familial duties.
This war is dual. For Russians and Ukrainians, this is a civil war, since the people are one. But for the whole world, this is something like the Second World War. United Europe again came to destroy Russia and Russians, as Hitler did. USA wants to conquer the world, Russia defends the Free World. If Russia loses, the world will become a terrible place, since the colonial regime of one country will be even worse than the colonial regimes of the 19th century - at least there were many metropolises there.
The UA-cam channel Lindybeige usually covers old historical weapons and arms. But recently he’s had a series of fascinating interviews with a British volunteer in Ukraine’s Foreign Legion. He talks all about his experience arriving in Ukraine during the Russian offensive against Kyiv and the practical aspects of the trench warfare things settled into.
Minor correction: in 1936 fighters from USSR in Spain weren’t “volunteers”, they were regular Red Army troops. Russian volunteers however were on the other side, on general Franco’s side. Glory to Ukraine, from a russian.
I am too old to take up arms, or engage in heavy lifting volunteer work... But if I was 20 years younger nothing could stop me from volunteering for this fight.
Brazilian here, i tried to enlist, went to the embassy but was rejected. I have weapons and some tactics training but im not ex military, that and the president didnt choose a side, so brazilians werent able to go *with permission*. Some went to ukraine anyway
The Colombian soldiers said they went to Ukraine because Colombia doesn't fight other countries. They only fight people inside their own countries like drug cartels and rebel groups.
@@longwong8311 Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and many other countries in the western hemisphere have had wars outside their boarder in living memory.
@@MultiNike79 it is curious to know what the end state would be. Assuming he conquered Ukraine, where else would he go? Who else would it embolden? We can speculate, of course, but we can never know for sure.
@@LegionKilo He? A counter-terrorist operation is being carried out on the territory of the former Ukraine, with the global goal of preventing genocide and regular terracts. The Fourth Reich, which was formed on the territory of Europe, with all this terrible Nazism and totalitarianism, also requires its solution, but Russia does not have enough strength to restore order there, as after 1945.
There was a documentary about a guy who wanted to join the Belgian army but was rejected. When the war broke out the joined the Ukranian national legion. After 1 month training they were send into combat, they were payed 4500$/month plus extra fees. He talked about abuse by drunken leaders and bad intel before going onto missions leading to many deaths and injured. He left after 6 months deeply traumatised. He said the biggest danger are drones, if you are detected you will be hit with artillery or an airstrike.
Hats off and much honor to the narrator’s family history of his great grandad fighting in the Spanish Civil War: 22 years ago I had the privilege of meeting Milton Wolf, the last commander of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and joining him on a tour of one of his old battlefields. (And on a side note, more than 200 graduates of Harvard University joined the French Army in one capacity or another during WWI including a certain Alan Seeger, who had a nephew called Paul Seeger)
If you're curious about what it's like, Lindybeige has a 3 vid interview with a British member of the Foreign legion, it's a hell of a story, dude went through so much and he said he's going back as soon as he recovers.
I fell You.. I'm Danish and My grandmother (on fathers side) lost 2 of her brothers (they were members if they Danish Communist party in the 1930's before the went to Spain to join the ' Internatinal Brigade' to fight against Francos fascists (and the German nazis - who used the Civil War in Spain in the 1930's as a practice run for WW2)... It wasn't until in the 1990 before My family finally found out where the 2 brothers were killed and buried (it was out in the country side får from large cities like Madrid Barcelona etc Maybe that was why it took +50 years before My family found out what happened to them..😢
Russia has allowed foreigners to join the armed forces since 2010. There are three basic requirements: speak Russian, have no criminal background, be willing to serve a minimum of 5 years.
Theres a uk channel by a guy called Lindybeige. He does a lot of random stuff from swing dance to military history to role playing games to medieval weaponry and armour. He also has a very interesting set of interviews with a UK volunteer who was over fighting in Ukraine. Well worth a listen.
The Holocaust, terrorist attacks, torture and murder, which these guys support - do you think it's funny? It's terrible in my opinion. My grandmothers told me a lot about what happened when such volunteers came here with Hitler. You killed my grandparents back then and your grandparents rebuilt cities without enough time to care for children. This burden still haunts us. And now I see how the Nazis came again and again I have to fight, and again restore everything after you. And for you it's funny. Looks the movide: Iron Sky.
I think it's important that volunteers are looked after for any injuries the receive from the conflict and I'm hoping that signing official enlistment documents (as mentioned at 14:05) will ensure this.
I can confirm it's much better now at recruitment.. Earlier this year, I got interviewed twice by an ex British soldier who'd been at fighter at the beginning of the war, and now works with the Ukrainian embassy, he questioned me about my previous military career, and had me vetted, I then had to confirm I had combat experience and the people who didn't have it or it became clear that they are lying about military service(which a ex soldier can always tell) they get removed from the enlistment process. So definitely miles better now.
At 5:00 ? That's my avatar! That's The Ukrainian Institute in NYC! It's a really beautiful building and I can't wait for some time off to go visit! They're on 79th and 5th, right across from the Met. It was already tagged by Polish people with a joint flag on the message board in front of the building. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦💙💛🌻
When it comes to volunteers in the spanish civil war there was finns fighting on both sides and after the war they met each other on the docks in finland that ended in a fist fight
Would you consider covering crimes committed against soldiers that don't get much attention and missing, presumed awol, soldiers who are found dead? For example Austin Hawke, Vanessa Guillen, Enrique Roman-Martinez, Richard Halliday, etc. I'm the sister of Richard Halliday who has been missing for almost 3 years and we're still looking for answers.
Terrorists are not welcome here. What would you like? If you come with a new Holocaust and support the Nazis, then they have been buried here for the last 400 years. One and the same thing: Hitlers, Kaisers, Napoleons, Bidens come, bring blood and destruction. Then they are destroyed. Pray for them - they are in hell for all this infernal horror, torture, murder and destruction.
What "foreign volunteers" in the Russian Army beyond a few Serbs? No sign of any of the 20,000 Syrians announced a year ago, or of any Afghans. The Central Asians were already working in Russia and there is little evidence of them, either. There is almost no evidence of genuine "volunteerism" on the Russian side, even from actual Russians.
The "Lindebeige," channel has an extended interview with a British legionaire. He was in the Legion from the beginning and has some interesting things to say (the incident with the spy and the sausage was the best bit ) Also, 2:30, I must say, your gran was a real looker.❤
From what I've seen a lot of foriegn volunteers are equipped with very modern and high quality weapons like CZ Bren IIs or brand new M4A1s with ACOGs or Aimpoint CompM4s. Almost all have modern plate carriers and uniforms. This makes sense because a lot of the donated weapons from friendly nations are not in large enough numbers to issue to the Ukrainian army generally and the foreign fighters are more likely familiar with the manual of arms. If the volunteers were the ones being under equipped you'd expect to see more basic AK74s and Soviet style web gear. Instead I've seen the Territorial Defense Forces equipped very lightly, the regular Ukrainian army looking like a solid mix between modern equipment and older weapons, and the foreign legion being equipped like modern soldiers.
It is our duty as free men to stand up against tyrants like Putin, before the second world war our ancestors stood in silence. What has that brought our beautiful planet? Nothing but pain and despair! We cannot bow or kneel to such people. Stand with those who would throw such shackles to the dirt! For these people will lead us to true victory. Glory to Ukraine!
Hello. I'm from Ukraine. I want to say a few words about the Legion. At the very beginning of the war, many people wanted to join the Legion, thinking that it was like fighting in Call of Duty. In fact, many were driving for adrenaline. Of course, they were very disappointed after the early arrivals of the missiles. It turned out that you can die here. Therefore, in the first weeks, a large part of people dropped out. That is why it was constantly indicated that experienced people are needed. And it is difficult and not easy even for the experienced, because almost no one had experience in a war of such a scale against a significantly superior enemy. Everything is easier now. After stabilization of the front and the path traveled. Developed infrastructure, training, etc. We especially need narrow specialists in Western technology. For example, for training on Patriot or other Western air defense systems. Therefore, it is definitely not worth going to the Legion following the call of the heart without having skills. If you don't have the skills, but you really want to help with your personal presence, there are a lot of volunteer organizations that help people. For example, with medicine, logistics, etc. This is an equally important matter. It is not necessary to risk your life.
When the call for volunteers first went out last year, it seemed authorities said they were requiring DD-214 or equivalent papers in order to be considered, but then it seemed not so since they got so many unqualified types? What happened with that? Screening using those papers as one requirement, at least by the first legit FL recruit familiar with discharge papers would be a simple thing.
@@NWer-c5u I suspect they had plenty of intent to do it properly but well shit hit the fan and it didn’t end up happening By most accounts it’s far better now. War is chaos, it takes time to enforce some structure on it
A big thanks to Ridge Wallet for sponsoring the animation work in today’s video. Here’s their site if you want to check them out ridge.com/taskandpurpose
3:34 who made that map :D Czech republik is in NATO for bloody long time...
I wish I'd joined the national guard my junior year instead of waiting for graduation this year.
I would have had training and probably joined to defend the innocent women and children AKA refugees to the safer western side of the country.
Though I graduate in a few months and am joining up anyway, sure, I'll be in Europe or Asia soon enough anyway.
Cant get away from Lav even here
Do Penal Battalions next. Like Wagner.
Small correction: Spanish volunteers weren't only fighting against fascists. It was all around FFA. Communist volunteers, fascist volunteers, republican volunteers et cetera. Basically a total mess.
I voluntarily served in Ukraine and originally was to join the International Legion. After a few days with them, seeing how much of a total gong show the unit was, me and several others left. I then linked up with a volunteer medical battalion under the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence called the Hospitallers. As a medic and rescue tech for industry back home, and former soldier, the Hospitallers were happy to have me, and they treated me quite well.
The long and the short of it, the International Legion is decent if you have combat experience and are up to date on combat operations. But unless you can prove yourself to them immediately, it’s probably not a good option. There are other programs in Ukraine accepting international volunteers, but from my knowledge the Hospitallers are among the best. Just make sure you are completely up to date with TCCC & weapons handling, otherwise you will be relegated as a driver: a position they already have a healthy surplus of.
Warmonger? I believe your wife and kids don't need the so-called "hero", they just need a good husband and a father.
@@mikhail2446 speaking of family and kids, clearly your parents raised you quite poorly, skipping the cliche but all too true saying “if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all”. I chose to set a good example for for my son, standing up for what I believe in and offering my assistance in saving lives in the face of the pure evil that is the Russian military. Your words are the words of both ignorance and cowardice, yet you think you’re better than me by criticizing my efforts to help a innocent country defend itself from crimes against humanity and invasion from an evil Autocrat.
@@thesmellycrap4929 I am glad to hear they were humble enough to effect some positive changes. I got there in May, and yes, gong shot was an understatement. It is impressive to hear you, & others, did stick it out 🫡
@@mikhail2446 you do know warmonger is someone who actively creates war not defends a country from an invasion.... right..?
@@James-zg2nl do you really think the war in Ukraine is good vs evil? Not evil vs evil?
I've met foreign legionnaires during Kharkiv offensive near city of Balakliya. Most of them were from Scotland and Ireland. I noticed that their training level and fighting skills much further than ours (national guard of Ukraine). They helped us as we trapped in minefields , gave my wounded brothers-in-arms medical care they needed , disarmed a lot of OZM-72 antipersonnel mines to clear safe path. Legionnaires are people of courage and honour, I respect and proud that they fight side by side with us against russia.
Excuse me for bad English
Stay strong and be well brother. The sun will shine again upon Ukraine.
My grandmother told how she rebuilt Kharkov after your last attack in the 1940s. And I have to restore again, after you are destroyed :( History repeats itself in a spiral and the Nazis do not learn anything.
@@MultiNike79 You have this absurd idea that Ukrainians are Nazis. This is pure projection. Russia is far, far closer to the kind of nation that Germany was during WWII.
Irish and Scottish. I'd be glad to have those lads backing me up
It’s the Russians who are bombing Kharkiv and targeting civilians throughout Ukraine. The Russians are the nazis in this war
Colombian volunteers poured in from the beginning. My brother has been fighting since the war started he is former Colombian Special Forces 🇨🇴 God bless all 🙏
Hope all is well with your brother and your family.
Respect.
I've heard from reliable soldiers are some of the best light infantry in the world
He will come as a dead men if not already dead Russians are ruthless soldiers
He will come back in a box ..why ?? Just for Biden ??
@@breakfast00club..11 lol troll
@@peterwight3918 is he realy a troll? are you out of your mind?
Just want to address some things as an ex-Foreign Legion member operating under GUR.
1. The legion gets bad equipment
- No. the legion gets better equipment than the Ukrainians most of the time. It’s just not handed out to every unit. There are units who have been proven in combat, they get everything they ask for. When I left I had a suppressor, laser, high rise mounted optic, and $7000 pair of RNVGs with dual peltor comtacs and an AMP mount, baofengs, Motorolas, and ATAK phones. We had any equipment we asked for within a month or two.
2. We get sent on suicide missions.
- No. Ukraine is not America, they do not have the capacity to support an operation like America does. When we went out, we had no medical support because there was no medical support. There were no aircraft, the QRF was a unit on the frontline that just took casualties from a shelling, and they had no one to come get us - most of the time. We were the best trained soldiers in that battle space, and Ukraine employed us as such. The missions were dangerous, but we accomplished them nonetheless despite rampant desertions from a lot of other foreigners, US included. It was a real war, not like the last decade of Iraq or Afghanistan.
TLDR: Foreigners get good equipment and are not sent on suicide missions.
❤
If you could go back, would you have done it again?
So you jumped from one despicable fight to another, congrats. At least you backed it up with action. If the empty suits in D.(. were required to the world would be much more peaceful.
Thank you
@@almo3250dickhead
Lindybeige recently interviewed a British foreign fighter who was at the Yavoriv base when it was bombed for those interested. He also covers some other topics about the foreign volunteers in Ukraine in a series of interviews.
This guy is awesome. I want to drink with him. Lindy is cool guy too
its a really good interveiw
That is an amazing interview, he did the interview because they are friends if I remember correctly. There is also a shorter interview before he goes to Ukraine where he says one of the reasons he voluntered is because he thinks wars should be fought by the middled aged not the young
Yes that is a good interview.
Ah, just posted the same thing above. Should have checked the comments first...
“The reason transnational volunteers sign up to fight against Russia often is because their ideological beliefs within their own state failed them. Many American Iraq and Afghanistan veterans feel that the fight in Ukraine was what they wished they were fighting for in the global war on terror.”
Just casually dropping some weapons-grade truth here.
for some its like being an exterminator going in to kill cock roaches. do you try to relate to a cock roach? nope you just step on it and move on. because of international legion multitudes of cock roaches were sent home in body bags so they wont go home to lay eggs and make more cock roaches. they did humanity a favor.
But why do they refuse to affirm homosexual special rights ?
@@benjurqunov good bait
@@ericsilver9401 some master baitin' indeed
Ethno-nationalism is so hot right now
I am helping a battalion and another unit of the Legioners. At this point they’re supplied with everything, and I help them with some specific and urgent requests + financing cars repairs. I know the commander of this battalion, he’s an experienced, good and very careful guy. He cares about each one of his boys. Just saying. We are deeply grateful to each and every foreign volunteer.
Just doing my part by bumping this.
🖕UA-cam algorithm🖕
Do you need an extra hand to help?
Military experienced and combat veteran
These are older issues highlighted by the Kyiv Independent and I hope the government addressed them. Even Poland is seeking their citizen for crimes committed in Poland. As anti-corruption goes, this highlights that you as an individual should speak out if you see an incompetent commander, so these issues are fixed or join a unit that works like the Georgian Legion.
I think thar if i am commanded by an incompetent corrupt old man, i would probably execute him right on the spot, he is sending me to die anyways, lets drag him and all his supporters with me
"as an individual should speak out if u see an incompetent comm., or join a unit like the GL" Guessing u havent served. Or been on Ops for real
Dude, people ARE speaking up. They are filing proper reports on bad commanders of all levels. Yet nothing is done about it. There is an interview here on YT about it. One volunteer arrived with a personal €30K sniper rifle that he was required to have stored in the common weapons-bunker over night before being sent out into combat the next day. Guess what? The rifle was gone next morning. They reported the shady mf who was in control of the bunker-locker, who clearly lied about not knowing anything about any fancy high tech sniper rifle, to the Ukrainian Military Intelligence and the Police. Nothing. Absolutely nothing was done about it. This was in Kyiv. It's a total shit show over there.
This type of corruption is a major problem with every country formerly under Communist rule: The people become frighteningly corrupt. Look at the Baltic states, Poland, Chezh Republic, etc. All corrupt to the core, just like the people in Russia, China etc.
It's getting better though, but it takes time. Not until the old and permanently corrupted generations die off and younger people, who didn't live under the corrupting influence of communism, grow up and take the reigns of their country does the corruption and nepotism slowly go away. But it takes about 2-3 generations. Until then. It's a total shitshow.
How do i know this? Well... i live nearby.
@@nonamegiven2024 Guessing u serve(d) in RF forces, or some other, incompetent, backwards forces that are immune to feedback based improvement.
Where did you serve/been on Ops for real ?
@@nonamegiven2024 Sasha makes a mockery of the country of Ukraine. For this and more I would give him summary execution with no trial. You are used to such tactics in Russia, just used against people that didn't deserve it. Go read the Gulag Archipelago and learn a bit about Putin's roots.
I read from an American volunteer that he got redemption for the war in Iraq, where he was seen and called an "invader". He helped liberate towns in Ukraine and was proud to be called a liberator and was thanked by the civilians.
Actually the Iraqis did occassionally greet Americans given that Saddam had a minority dictatorship.
@@Strongholdex in the beginning, otherwise it was horrible
@@Strongholdex The beginning most Americans felt they were fighting what they believed in. Its the decade after that things began to change.
@@ruthrobles4594 Obviously you don’t get to talk with many Kurds.
It’s only thanks to the US invasion of Iraq that Iraqi Kurds (who supported the Americans immediately) now have been able to obtain the most similar thing to a fully independent country that they ever had in their entire history. By contrast in the late 1980s and early 1990s various districts of Iraqi Kurdistan were razed by Saddam Hussein, who sent the aptly named “Chemical Alí” to bomb Kurdish towns and villages with gas and chemical weapons… so yeah, it always depends in these cases.
@@adolfolerito6744 oh yeah? I'm sure if you approach a resident of kurdistan right now or a fighter of the ypg they will call the Americans brave and willing to fight for freedom😂😂the peshmerga, with the help of special forces, fought for their own country, and held their own country. Recent events tell the true position of the americans on any rebel movement that is at odds in any way to us interest
my buddy fought for ukraine last year from march til august and was treated great, once they knew he was a former marine sniper he was given the best they could get for him because they knew what the had and he proved his worth. He went there because he doesnt like Russia or what they stand for and still says they are the worst trained troops hes ever fought and has fought in iraq and afghanistan. Still insists in a conventional war the us could defeat Russia in under 2 weeks as well given what hes seen as far as russian military in ukraine
It´s amazing how americans can be so delusional
😆 sure buddy.
So if the US could defeat Russia in 2 weeks , why they are not doing it ?
It would be much cheaper than paying all these billions to Ukraine !!
Or maybe your friend clearly lacks military knowledge and thats why he ran out of Ukraine !
It's precious he thinks a administration in Washington lead by a senile idiot and a woke as F military leadership that shouldn't be trusted with a potato gun could lead a successful war... 2 decades in Afghanistan and Iraq proved NATO not just the US is not as strong as we are sold. And that's with leadership that isn't as much of clown show that we have now and makes us the laughing stock of the world..
Putin's constant nuclear posturing is proof enough that Russia is ill-equipped to win a conventional war against any decent military.
Obviously, Russians & naive people online can say whatever they want, but there's a very obvious reason Russia's only behind North Korea in terms of how often they waves nukes around every chance they get.
They're not confident in anything else they have and are afraid if they don't repeatedly remind everyone "bUt nUkEs!" every 2 seconds, then they'll get destroyed.
I remember watching some Russian POW being interviewed by Ukrainian journalists, and many of them said that “they were captured by foreign mercenaries”. When the journalists explained that those people were not “mercenaries” (for whom Ukraine simply doesn’t have the money) but international volunteers, the POWs were dumbfounded as to why so many people from India, America or Western Europe would leave the safety of their usually rich countries, in order to risk their lives for Ukraine’s survival!
They really couldn’t even conceive that, when you invade a far smaller country to literally CONQUER it, people around the world don’t see you as “the good guys”…
Zolkin explained the difference between mercenaries and international volunteers from the point of view of the law. Every volunteer becomes a part of UAF and must be treated as every other ukrainian soldier
No if u fight in a war for a site without the nationality you are a mercenary xD
Call it what you want
This never happened (I had to list almost all of the POWs footage that came from this war). Stop spreading such lies. "dumbfounded that people came to help the "good guys"", damn you are really naive. ^^ As someone who actually lived in Ukraine, i cringe when i see some of the westerners that believe that this war is a Marvel movie. x)
@@11141q ALL HAIL THE GOD-TSAR! I agree with you whole-heartedly!
You have to remember we are getting one message they are being told another one
Cappy my grandfather fought against Franco in the Spanish civil war too. He had some crazy experiences in that war and it shaped the lives of that whole side of my family as my grandmother was sent away from Spain as a child at the outbreak of the war to Mexico. Once Franco won my grandfather eventually made his way to Mexico to escape persecution under Franco’s regime.
Czyli twój dziadek był bolszewikiem. Wspierał Stalina. Dzisiaj wspierałby Putina
My great uncle left Ireland to fight Franco, he wrote a book about his experiences, "under the olive groves"......Joe Cunningham
Not to be a troll or speak negatively but if your grandfather fought against Franco and the Fascist then he was a fighting for the communists and anarchists?
@@Mr.NorthSacra916Xfour fighting for communists against fascism is an objectively good thing to do.
I think there's another very relevant aspect to foreign fighters leaving. The war is now more than a year old. I don't think we can judge foreign fighters for deciding they've done enough for someone else's country.
The last big war here lasted 4 years. Then, too, the Europeans got tired and stopped fighting. The problem is that when Europeans come to Russia, they destroy everything and make a Holocaust, and when Russia comes to Europe, it simply teaches us to live in a civilized way.
Therefore, Europeans are not afraid of Russians - they know that if they are not offended, they will be taught tolerance, peaceful coexistence and other achievements.
Stupid historical cycle, again entered the period of the Western Holocaust. I hoped people got better.
Someone else's country that has routinely showed a disregard for the foreign volunteers in their usage, safety, equipment and organization*
Its one thing to be drafted and have to fight for people who are incompetent. Its another to voluntarily stay to take part in the Nepotism Express Lane straight to the graveyard. Its a massive PR win to have all those people showing up to defend your country as the bastion of liberal democratic values David against an authoritarian state Goliath. Most of it is lost when you start letting those men be killed needlessly because of an inter-service pissing match spawned from appointing commanders in a manner that closely resembles how things are handled in an authoritarian state. You know, letting international criminals hide in your country and have command positions is definitely common practice in Russia, and Ukraine copying it looks very, very bad.
Even if its only small number who died that way, its unacceptable and hurts their image.
I tried joining the Ukrainian foreign legion a bit after the war started ( March 5th) but I never got to Ukraine. I ended up changing my mind half way there and went back. Seeing as I have no military training whatsoever I would probably just have been a burden for the Ukrainians but I still feel like a bit of a coward for not going all the way.
At least Poland was nice.
Dumb
Dying in a foreign war isn't bravery, it's stupidity...
No worries bro. Nobody thinks you're a homo.
Don't beat yourself up about it. You've gone further than I ever could, and for that you have my respect.
You did the right thing. I dont have military training either but have "other skills" that can be useful in war. Some of my friends (some of them Russian) asked me why I didnt go to Ukraine to help with that skillset.
The thing is that as long as we keep supplying Ukraine with weapons I'd be pretty much useless and I dont want to be a burden.
I'll go as a tourist when the war if over and visit the friends I have left there.
Wow that’s a very sad Pathetic sorry.. you’re a millennial I’m guessing??
In Ireland our laws concerning fighting in foreign armies are extremely loose, in that they don't exist. As long as you are not part of an organisation declared illegal in Ireland like ISIS or Al-Qaeda you can join freely with no restrictions. Foreign armies can't actively recruit in Ireland but people frequently travel abroad to join the military, most notably in the British army where there are thousands of Irish citizens, as well as the US military and French Foreign Legion. Also with your mention of the Spanish civil war about a thousand Irish citizens fought in the war, most of them fought for Franco as part of the Irish brigade. We have a long history of the "Wild Geese", a nickname for Irishmen travelling abroad to fight in foreign armies that has existed since the Crusades and continues to this day. So even though it is not on any lists concerning the legality of foreigners joining the Ukrainian military, lads joining the Ukrainian army is perfectly legal in Ireland and a good few have gone.
But why do they absolutely refuse homosexual special rights ?
@@benjurqunov what are you on about?
@@Kevc00
It keeps spamming the comments with this single question without context. No idea what it's on about or who it's referring to.
I'm passingly familiar with the Wild Geese, but didn't know that the tradition has continued to the present.
@@eldorados_lost_searcher traditionally it referred to going to continental armies, but since the 19th century it has generally referred to going abroad to fight in general. People don't talk about it much but most families will have had someone who joined the British army.
Ukrainian civilians gratefull for any help especially militaries from another countries
Thank You from heart
Stay safe y'all💪🏻
@@JoshuaC923 I will try
Thank You bro
Not the 30%of Ukrainians that are Russian.
Why do you want the people of Luhansk to go back to Ukraine when they voted to join Russia?
Don't you believe in Democracy?
@Curiosity than why did you comment this
Lier :)
That is really heart breaking to hear Afghan soldiers are joining up with Russia because they felt abandoned by the US. I mean I totally get it, but it just really really is sad to hear.
Actually awesome to hear.
they want to fight the nato guys who hung them out to dry after hyping bagram airbase so much.
will be funny when the afghan guy ends up waterboarding his former american captor lol.
Even though the American president who abandoned Afghanistan was pro-russia.
@@DrMrPersonGuy is Biden pro russia?
Abandoned they couldn't even hold their country for a few months. They had 20 years of hand holding and never once took the initiative or showed any real effort in fighting. Obviously some of the sf units fought and fought hard but the regular army units in Afghanistan were cowards.
Yugoslavs that fought in Spanish civil war then had huge combat experience during ww2 and they were the only resistance force that liberated its own country. These guys were pretty badass once the war started
Coming form ex Yugoslavia and being born during this war I agree ☝️
Dang, Cappy, I didn't even make the connection until now about the Spanish Civil War and Ukraine. I'm with you. I hope this isn't the prequel to a larger conflict...say, with China, further down the road...
@@williamyoung9401 China isn't going to go to war on Russia's behalf
Do be worried about America starting shit, though. After all we’ve only sent the troops someplace new on average every three years.
True.
Curiously I have relatives who have fought on both sides od the spanish civil war. Except that only the one was the volonteer. My grandfather's brother was an actual soldier in the Italian army and died fighting for Franco. What an absurd affair that was.
did grandpa say it was a mistake? nono . mine was captured by japanese for fundraising for us/phillipiines.
@@drakelang8342 He always described it as a tragedy, not a mistake. As if he died in a car accident.
Absurd? It was worth it to get rid of the communists.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 My great-grandmother did not see it that way.
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 Go kick rocks! At the begining of the civil war Spain had a population of 20 million people. The comunist party had only 18.000 members and was absolutely power- and meaningles.
Only after two years of war, in wich de democracys of the world refused to help the legitimate republican goverment (something they would deepely regret when it got their turn to fight a nazi Germany they could have weakened in Spain), while MUSOLINI and HITLER totally suported the rebels, the republican authorities gave in to the demands of the Soviet Union, and put the local comunists in key positions in order to get the support of the USSR.
Stop spreading fascist propaganda..... Franco and his comrades almost caused what the said they wanted to avoid.
Even the USA embasador in Spain at the time of the civil war aknowlegded later that THERE WAS NEVER A CHANCE OF A COMMUNIST COUP DE ETAT IN SPAIN before the civil war.
we have some guys from Argentina fighting for Ukraine over there, glory to Ukraine and glory to the legion and foreign fighters
From argentina? He will certainly join the azov battalion for nostalgias sake
they got guys from almost every country
bunch of idiots gonna die and kill for no reason
lol
@@u2beuser714 If only you actually knew what you were talking about lemme guess you wrong lyrics think they are Nazis which simply is not true
@@Grumpbeardtvit was a joke ..
I have a classmate from college who served in the 🇳🇿 New Zealand Army from 2011 to 2017, was deployed to 🇹🇱 East Timor and 🇦🇫 Afghanistan during his time in the NZ Army and later travelled to Europe to fight in Ukraine last year in 2022.
When he returned home back in January, we asked why he opted to go to 🇺🇦 Ukraine in the first place. Apparently he opted to fight in Ukraine because he didn't have much for him here at home. According to him he had trouble holding a job, kept going on & off the benefit (welfare), had a bit of a drinking problem, his fiancee left him whilst he was deployed to East Timor and just didn't quite fit in with society after his time in the army.
It is just a much more real life than day to day life in a peaceful country. Not surprising that people can have trouble leaving that life behind.
It's always the soldiers that dont fit into normal life it's hard to be like people when your a warrior with a higher calling
Holy shit, i did not expect my country flag, Perú, to appear in one of the soldiers chest, 0:19
Latino Power Hermano👊
This is a war on totalitarianism, all are welcome!
The Peruvians i'm told were subsumed to the Bulgarian Bag Biter Battalion.
He mentioned India fighting for Ukraine, mad propaganda
@@TsarOfRuss I know there was one guy from India. You have no idea how partisan India is.
I am happy to see that there are still people from my country who are standing up for what is right. 🇧🇷
In their hearts, they are with Ukraine. Brave soldiers who fought in the war who would love to be able to go out and fight for Ukraine. God bless them.
What is right that they are standing up for?
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 helping resist an illegal invasion from Putin
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 The fact that Russia thinks they can attack a country but can't be attacked on their homeland is baffling
@@huwhitecavebeast1972 Killing orcs
Met in person Mexican's, Spain's, Americans in the battle for Severodonetsk,june 22.Thank you,people of dignity😊
What did Europeans forget in Russian lands? Why are you needed here? Do you remember what they did to you last time?
@@MultiNike79 your land are swamps and old wooden villages😂😂
@@jamesstevenson5329 One of the key features of Americans is their extreme stupidity and lack of erudition.
Russia is fighting Nazi zombies, like you.
As a foreign volunteer in Ukraine, both of those initial numbers look really high unless it's just a survey of people who showed interest
Lol you're wasting your life
@@prometheusjackson8787 wtf is Your problem
@@prometheusjackson8787 😄😄😄
@@sumduma55 Where you got that information ?
@@prometheusjackson8787 you too for being a russian troll.
Should of mention Freedom of Russia Legion as one of the Ethnic Russian units working with Ukrainian Foreign Legion. Many of them are not only defectors, but also foreign Russians like me who are against Russian government and their imperial ambitions.
I believe if Pyotr Kropotkin were still alive, he would pick up a gun and fight against Putin.
Should've, not should of.
You're one of the good Russians
Свобода россий братан
Excuse me for my poor Russian
Atlest they were shortly visible in the Wikipedia List he has shown.
@@luminaaeterna1259 Eh "Good Russian" is kind of misnomer. It is derogatory term for Russian Opposition members who are not any different from Putler and his cronies. As in the ones with imperial ambitions. This is why some organizations like Russian Volunteer Corps exist, even though they are technically sub organization of Azov but of ethnic Russians.
My experience in the wars in the former Yugoslavia was that foreign volunteers were mostly guys trying to escape from their wives or else from a tedious, meaningless life. A lot of Brits who were on the dole were volunteers. They were guys trying to prove to themselves that they weren't cowards. A motley bunch for sure.
crazy you fought in yugoslavia and dropped that like its casual , i could easily see people trying to get out of their crap lives by going to war
What side did you fight for and what’s your view on it ?
Foreign nationals volunteers is a topic worthy of news coverage in this putrid war. Thanks for the vid. Keep on. Tom.
What was even better is that he mentioned corruption in the foregin legion and "Sasha". Kyiv independent have two articles about this and both are a good and terryfing read.
People who join terrorist organizations are not volunteers, but terrorists.
Davide Rodogno (2.30 paper author) was my prof in Geneva, Switzerland :) very very very professional, funny and good teacher. What a surprise :) (cheers from Hungary, and Slava Ukraini!!)
I served with the international legion but was wounded during the attack in Yavoriv on March 13 2022. I have a lot of insight on to what happened, and how the legion operates as a whole (from my experience).
What made you become a terrorist?
Do you know about the Holocaust? It's considered a bad thing all over the world, why did you decide to do it?
then you not really served,if you just got clapped in yaworiw and left.
@@InfantryRifleman00 He was injured he never stated if he left afterwards and continued service
@@InfantryRifleman00 Internet hero right here
When you need more armour so you put ridge wallet all over the place like explosive reactive armour
better than what you get if you volunteer for Ukraine
@@alexandermccabe556 mobniks be like.
@@alexandermccabe556, for Ukraine in the Ruzz foreign legion, yes. They'll be provided with the latest btr-50s!
Think it has been confirmed that wallets are effective pieces of armour.
Those Cope Wallets.
The clip at 10.50ish was a disproven clip used by Russian trolls. It was used in the Czech Republic as part of a movie, but the Russians, not Ukranians as stated, made it out like the Ukranians were using it
It sucks feeling so helpless. I’d be less than useless in combat off on an Xbox and yeah, I’ve emails my senators telling them my whole family is willing to send whatever tax dollars Ukraine needs to defend their country but there isn’t really much I can do. Glory to all the brave soldiers who actually go.
They're not even raising taxes, they're just printing and borrowing. We're never gonna actually pay it all back so it's basically free money.
Lol sending dollars to someone who you don't know and what they truly stand for. Just because you government tells you to. Freedom btw. More like blatant propaganda.
It is often doubtful if volunteers provide a positive net gain -
in terms of combat effectiveness for resources spent
But from a propaganda perspective they're invaluable
The importance of boosting morale is no small thing
is mostly a political gain, moral drops when different types of forces, specially international are added. Hell in the army moral grinds to a halt when you are told that the unit supporting you is a National Guard unit.
I'd argue that they are some of the most valuable. If they get shot, send them home. Most have Healthcare systems that you don't have to provide.
Treat them well ? They're top tier for motivation considering how far they were will to travel to join.
From a leadership standpoint. They have so much value that's unfortunately due to being able to take advantage of them... but what else are soldiers for ?
Your long form videos pack so much information you must do a lot of research for these, thanks for the dedication, very informative
Why ? Some people don't like that a small country has been brutally and mercilessly attacked by a country 20 times its size. But most are descendants of people whom Russia has hurt in the past. Russia has left its merciless mark on virtually every country it borders on. Practically starting from Finland and ending with Korea, people from these countries have suffered numerous brutal and merciless wrongs in just the last 100 years. Deportations, extermination camps, mass executions, NKVD prisons and similar places saw practically all people from countries neighboring Russia
I think you can easily say that this is far beyond average infantryman. This is advanced professional journalism with integrity.
@Robotfromouterfuckingspace What part was propaganda?
"I'm doing my part!" I love that book. And the movie. But on completely different levels.
Same!
Yep book is totally different from movie.
@Hey hoe though honestly I really enjoy the movie as a satire of the book
Sign up and join the war .. you will learn the hard way
that book and forever war are so great
Fun fact there’s a special forces unit in the International Ukraine Foreign Legion.
Chris, I was so surprised that your great grandfather died in the Spanish Civil War. I'm of Spanish descent as well, and it was the Spanish Civil War that sent us back to the United States. My grandfather came to the US from having lived in Cuba from age 12 to 24, after having gone to Cuba from the northwestern coast of Galicia, Spain. He was a foreman and manager in a hand made cigar factory in Tampa, Florida when mechanized cigar making bankrupted the cigar company where he worked. He returned to the seaside town in Spain for my grandma who was also from there. The fascists established a foothold in the town next door where they took over most of the functions of the elected government by wearing military style uniforms, bullying everyone, doing physical violence, murders and later public executions. Our Spanish-American family was too much of an example of democracy and so they began to harass my family. My family tried to stay neutral, but it didn't work. After my dad was brought into the Falangists office for saying something like "It is not our job as students to get involved in politics. Our job is to work on our studies." I guess this falls in line with the idea if you are not with us you are against us fascist mentality??? This was somehow wrong. Only loyal fascists allowed. Because my dad had helped the Falangists leader's son once, he pretended to beat my dad by whipping his riding boots behind the closed door in his office. That night, as my family thought about what to do, someone shot and killed my dad's dog in front of their house. That night my grandfather gathered the family and made their way to a big city on the coast and booked passage back to America on an ocean liner. My uncle Ernest stayed behind to help the State Department get Spanish-Americans, who were now in trouble from the fascists, out of Spain. The Falangistas ended up going on a rampage killing anyone they thought was a troublemaker. A group of young fascists from the fascists town next door went looking for the star soccer players of my family's town who had kept them from winning a championship TO KILL THEM! They paraded woman accused of being loose naked and chained on a truck bed. ??? My uncle managed to get a few Spaniards who had American ties out with the US consulate in Vigo. My grandfather told my family that even though we were on a ship headed for the free world, to not talk about anything that went on or politics while on the ship. Sure enough the ship made an unscheduled stop in the Canary Islands where those that talked openly against the fascists were taken off the ship. It is hard for us Americans to comprehend what it's like living under fascism/totalitarianism. Let's pray we never do.
So your Spanish family was communists
Thanks Joe.
The best history is that passed down
through our families.
Thank-you for the interesting story. I moved to Spain a few years ago and was surprised by how much this Franco era still casts a shadow over the country. I am living in an area that was a republican stronghold until near the end of the war. They still find mass graves from time-to-time. There is a very good movie "El sustituto" that I would recommend to anyone interested in this Franco time. It tells the story of the German Nazis who were protected by Franco.
I think i drove past that factory going to school. I am happy your family survived. I dont know what put my family in the US, excluding my grandmother who is conquistador blood, but i hope it was willing
Thanks for sharing this story, especially since a surprising amount of people both in and outside of spain still defend francos regime in spite of the terrible atrocities it commited. I know that the republicans also weren't saints in many instances but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as with the nationalists. It's a shame how inside of spain francos shadow is still very much present and how many people are still brainwashed by its propaganda to defend it
This was a really well researched piece- the historical context about other conflicts was really helpful to understand the manpower issues. The reportage about the corruption and incompetence of the Ukrainians was covered very diplomatically. Good work Cappy!As always great sense of humor Chris. 🙌🏽
Well, the West has its own history, based on Marvel comics. It has nothing to do with the real one.
It's funny that similar events have been repeated for about 10 times over the past 400 years. Some infernal evil European (Polish king, Napoleon, Kaiser, Hitler, Biden) comes and starts killing local people. Then the Russians crush him. You can take literature 150 years ago and it will fully describe current events: again evil from the West, the destruction of the region, again help comes from Moscow to save people from destruction by foreigners.
Bravo! That was and balanced reporting, unlike some major news outlets.
Technically, due to totalitarianism in the United States, it is forbidden to present real events. Therefore, he has to speak very carefully so as not to be forbidden.
Lindybeige did a pretty good interview with one of his lads that went to volunteer. I highly recommend watching it.
In other words "In Syria and Iraq we could play the Rambo part cause the enemy had nothing, but in Ukraine we are facing a real army who actually has real equipment". Nothing like in the movies isn't it.
Actually - Iraq had weapons on the level currently employed by Russia or better (which isn't saying much considering they send T55 from forties to front line now). They army just wasn't willing to fight for Saddam or they "country" (which borders were drawn by British not considering local population which caused three hostile to each other ethniticies suddenly becoming citizens of Iraq), were poorly trained and badly lead. Also - USA has no.1 military without close second. You'd have to be an idiot to blame them for having superior technology and using them to minimize casualities on their side....
Except for isis the Republican guard and Iran back militias
I think you did fairly well in highlighting both the good and the bad that happens around foreign fighters. The Polish dude with a fake name and a criminal record reminded me how there was a Finnish article similar to the one in Kyiv Independent that raised issues of Ukraine troops' tactical capabilities. If what was told by the one named Finnish volunteer and the two unnamed ones were accurate or not, I wouldn't know, but the named guy turned out to be a crook with massive embezzlement charges.
I was so shocked to know about your great-grandfather's sacrifice and therefore, as a spaniard follower of yours, I just wanted to sincerely thank you and your family. Time certainly passes but gratitude remains.
(I'm guessing he was probably part of the Lincoln Battalion which iirc reunited most of young brave american fighters).
I know 3 🇨🇦friends who went over and didn’t stay long. They felt being foreigners they were seen as disposable and expendable. Thrown into the meat grinder. That’s why Wally the 🇨🇦sniper didn’t stay long. They were not used in the right way.
All those above were trained and experienced infantry combat veterans.
He said he was not going to shoot Russians, just serve as a spotter. I watched his interview. With that attitude you expect something else?
My 2 collegues went there since the start and are coming back after regular visits home. They are coming back to recharge batteries and buy some equipment for newbies. In general they do not complain about their gear, they were given everything once they showed willingness to fight. Just like others wrote in comments.
Granted, Wally could have his reasons to not shoot, just put yourself in shoes of Ukrainians. Anyway, respect for all Canadian soliders, I have heard only good words about you guys.
That's not the experience of people I know who are still there. Stories I hear some people just weren't mentally ready for full blown near peer conflict. It's not like these low intensity conflicts prepare you for getting shelled and bombed all day.
and as Wally said, its a war between machines, first of all
its tough to fight if your enemy has much more weapons and ammunition
7:47 I try to explain this to people all the time, and they just don't get it. A OPFOR that has these capabilities is not something that many people have experience with, and it's likely to demoralize any who assumed that it would be like previous engagements.
All of these volunteers for the Ukrainian (except the corrupt leadership) military are serious hero's. I commend your bravery.
Not all,
Only the military veterans who provided actual help to the ukrainians,
not the bunch of war tourist who becomes more of a liability than a helping hand
Filthy mercs! Hope the Russians don't take them PoWs
You probably don't know the story. Europeans with their genocide came to the territory of Rus' many times. And each time it ended badly for them.
All sorts of fascists, Nazis, Hitlers, Napoleons and other evil spirits. Why do you keep repeating the same thing over and over? Slaughter people, burn cities? Why are Europeans unable to live peacefully and respect others until Russia stands above them?
Some, not all. Those men who left their families to risk their lives for a foreign cause are the opposite of heroes, and should be shamed for shirking their familial duties.
@@johnbaker4246 They went on safari to shoot Russians (80% of Ukraine's peoples).
Full of videos where they shoot unarmed people.
the French foreign legion are great at turning together a ragtag of multinational adventurist into a well balanced fighting force.
Yea but their well establish the Ukrainian one was established during a war not the best of times
Glad to hear some mention of the spanish civil war, one of the key events in the build up to the second world war which is often vastly over looked.
This war is dual. For Russians and Ukrainians, this is a civil war, since the people are one. But for the whole world, this is something like the Second World War. United Europe again came to destroy Russia and Russians, as Hitler did. USA wants to conquer the world, Russia defends the Free World. If Russia loses, the world will become a terrible place, since the colonial regime of one country will be even worse than the colonial regimes of the 19th century - at least there were many metropolises there.
The UA-cam channel Lindybeige usually covers old historical weapons and arms. But recently he’s had a series of fascinating interviews with a British volunteer in Ukraine’s Foreign Legion.
He talks all about his experience arriving in Ukraine during the Russian offensive against Kyiv and the practical aspects of the trench warfare things settled into.
Foreign volunteer returning from Ukraine said the volunteers with no military experience were often just as good as the guys with lots.
Yeah, was told the same. Depends on the mindset and as always bit of luck.
OK, not gonna lie, that Ridge Wallet promo bit was actually really well done. 10/10 did not mind watching an ad.
Minor correction: in 1936 fighters from USSR in Spain weren’t “volunteers”, they were regular Red Army troops. Russian volunteers however were on the other side, on general Franco’s side. Glory to Ukraine, from a russian.
Wasn't red army part of govt side?
@@പരുന്ത് Red Army was on Republican government side, Russian volunteers were on Falange side
Chris, since you have a connection to the Spanish Civil War, you might enjoy reading "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell.
I am too old to take up arms, or engage in heavy lifting volunteer work... But if I was 20 years younger nothing could stop me from volunteering for this fight.
Don't it's not worth it 2 corrupt governments fighting each other 😮
@@callsignjoker2686
It's you're bright spark 😂
@@prometheusjackson8787wtf
And you would face same outcome as in vietnam and afghanistan lol
@@prometheusjackson8787
Katsap 🤖
Respects to your great grandfather in Spain. I see honor runs in the family. Great report, thanks!
Brazilian here, i tried to enlist, went to the embassy but was rejected. I have weapons and some tactics training but im not ex military, that and the president didnt choose a side, so brazilians werent able to go *with permission*. Some went to ukraine anyway
i hear brazilian president is a former criminal, is it true?
The Colombian soldiers said they went to Ukraine because Colombia doesn't fight other countries. They only fight people inside their own countries like drug cartels and rebel groups.
That describes the entire western hemisphere except the USA.
@@longwong8311 Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and many other countries in the western hemisphere have had wars outside their boarder in living memory.
@@liammarshall-butler3384 Mexico and Cuba too.
To some extent this is true. One of the reasons people come here is to experience something they can't get anywhere else.
No disrespect the Colombian military but I thought the cartels and rebels would be enough.
At the time, I worked for the State Department Consular Affairs, and we processed about 6000 new passports for Americans to travel to Ukraine.
It is just as sad that Europeans forget how 27 million Russians died in the Holocaust and this is all happening again.
@@MultiNike79 it is curious to know what the end state would be. Assuming he conquered Ukraine, where else would he go? Who else would it embolden? We can speculate, of course, but we can never know for sure.
@@LegionKilo He?
A counter-terrorist operation is being carried out on the territory of the former Ukraine, with the global goal of preventing genocide and regular terracts.
The Fourth Reich, which was formed on the territory of Europe, with all this terrible Nazism and totalitarianism, also requires its solution, but Russia does not have enough strength to restore order there, as after 1945.
You're the only channel that I can actually stomach watching the sponsor advertisements on
There was a documentary about a guy who wanted to join the Belgian army but was rejected. When the war broke out the joined the Ukranian national legion. After 1 month training they were send into combat, they were payed 4500$/month plus extra fees. He talked about abuse by drunken leaders and bad intel before going onto missions leading to many deaths and injured. He left after 6 months deeply traumatised. He said the biggest danger are drones, if you are detected you will be hit with artillery or an airstrike.
Ukrainian Nazis
@@MultiNike79 Funny how quicky people are forgetting the US and Canadian forces trained nazi battalions in Ukraine.
thats the point, have protection from the enemy drones but how to do that?
Hats off and much honor to the narrator’s family history of his great grandad fighting in the Spanish Civil War: 22 years ago I had the privilege of meeting Milton Wolf, the last commander of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and joining him on a tour of one of his old battlefields. (And on a side note, more than 200 graduates of Harvard University joined the French Army in one capacity or another during WWI including a certain Alan Seeger, who had a nephew called Paul Seeger)
thanks for this informative report, learned many new details I hadn't been aware of
If you're curious about what it's like, Lindybeige has a 3 vid interview with a British member of the Foreign legion, it's a hell of a story, dude went through so much and he said he's going back as soon as he recovers.
I fell You..
I'm Danish and My grandmother (on fathers side) lost 2 of her brothers (they were members if they Danish Communist party in the 1930's before the went to Spain to join the ' Internatinal Brigade' to fight against Francos fascists (and the German nazis - who used the Civil War in Spain in the 1930's as a practice run for WW2)...
It wasn't until in the 1990 before My family finally found out where the 2 brothers were killed and buried (it was out in the country side får from large cities like Madrid Barcelona etc Maybe that was why it took +50 years before My family found out what happened to them..😢
Your Col Trautman Cosplay was Amazing....
Somehow I doubt those 20,000 on the Russian side are just volunteers
Russia has allowed foreigners to join the armed forces since 2010. There are three basic requirements: speak Russian, have no criminal background, be willing to serve a minimum of 5 years.
@@MissCheeseE think theres only 2 now.
@@MissCheeseE I'm not questioning that they're foreign.
Theres a uk channel by a guy called Lindybeige. He does a lot of random stuff from swing dance to military history to role playing games to medieval weaponry and armour. He also has a very interesting set of interviews with a UK volunteer who was over fighting in Ukraine. Well worth a listen.
I watched the interviews really good and interesting stuff!
Can't stand him, otherwise I'd have watched it by now. Keep seeing it...
@@EntryLevelLuxury If it helps he does very little talking in it. Its mostly all the other guy.
You do a good job, with great humor, disseminating clear and well researched information. Thanks and keep them coming!
The Holocaust, terrorist attacks, torture and murder, which these guys support - do you think it's funny?
It's terrible in my opinion. My grandmothers told me a lot about what happened when such volunteers came here with Hitler. You killed my grandparents back then and your grandparents rebuilt cities without enough time to care for children. This burden still haunts us. And now I see how the Nazis came again and again I have to fight, and again restore everything after you. And for you it's funny. Looks the movide: Iron Sky.
This is a certified sundowner moment
Keep your metal gear rising nonsense to yourself. That game sucks.
Sundowner moment? How?
@@Anuj-2 He means to say that he's fucking invincible.
@@Anuj-2 I love war
@@VenomSnake420 Me too, but not too close to home
Why are you showing Crimea as a part of Russia? Kinda weird given other territories you show as Ukrainian
@harvard smith deangelo lol
No active combat operations happening in Crimea/happened since February 2022.
@harvard smith deangelo Exactly, Ukraine will never put Crimea on the table and offer Crimea to the russian fascists.
Clase why dont you volunteer to fight?
I think it's important that volunteers are looked after for any injuries the receive from the conflict and I'm hoping that signing official enlistment documents (as mentioned at 14:05) will ensure this.
This is one of the best researched and most neutral analysis.
@@MrMarineti spell Ukrain right
Per capita the British have sent the most men to help Ukraine. The British never miss an opportunity to fight the Russians in Crimea
Gotta have someone pop the kettle on.
10:50 that guy got out of the body bag and someone came over and put him back lol 😂
I can confirm it's much better now at recruitment.. Earlier this year, I got interviewed twice by an ex British soldier who'd been at fighter at the beginning of the war, and now works with the Ukrainian embassy, he questioned me about my previous military career, and had me vetted, I then had to confirm I had combat experience and the people who didn't have it or it became clear that they are lying about military service(which a ex soldier can always tell) they get removed from the enlistment process. So definitely miles better now.
Have a bump. Best I can do on my part.
🖕 UA-cam algorithm🖕 tho
Stop painting Crimea as russia
Crimea was, is and will always be Russian. Go open a book. Almost everybody living there is Russian.
@@mamo1761 florida has always been mexican, just look how many latinos live there
@@mamo1761🖕
FL was NEVER Mexico, it was Spanish!
@@mamo1761It was Greek first.
Same my grandpa was a volunteer on the Soviet front after the civil war
At 5:00 ? That's my avatar! That's The Ukrainian Institute in NYC! It's a really beautiful building and I can't wait for some time off to go visit! They're on 79th and 5th, right across from the Met. It was already tagged by Polish people with a joint flag on the message board in front of the building.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦💙💛🌻
Spanish Civil War was Practice run of second world war. It was as important as First and Second world war.
Glory to the International foreign legion! Slava Ukraine!
Probably the first time in ages that I've actually LOVED an ad!! Thanks Cappy!
God bless to the Foreign volunteers that fights alongside Ukraineians soldiers to Defend Freedom, Democracy and Sovereignty of Ukraine!!!
When it comes to volunteers in the spanish civil war there was finns fighting on both sides and after the war they met each other on the docks in finland that ended in a fist fight
Would you consider covering crimes committed against soldiers that don't get much attention and missing, presumed awol, soldiers who are found dead? For example Austin Hawke, Vanessa Guillen,
Enrique Roman-Martinez, Richard Halliday, etc.
I'm the sister of Richard Halliday who has been missing for almost 3 years and we're still looking for answers.
Terrorists are not welcome here. What would you like? If you come with a new Holocaust and support the Nazis, then they have been buried here for the last 400 years. One and the same thing: Hitlers, Kaisers, Napoleons, Bidens come, bring blood and destruction. Then they are destroyed.
Pray for them - they are in hell for all this infernal horror, torture, murder and destruction.
What "foreign volunteers" in the Russian Army beyond a few Serbs? No sign of any of the 20,000 Syrians announced a year ago, or of any Afghans. The Central Asians were already working in Russia and there is little evidence of them, either. There is almost no evidence of genuine "volunteerism" on the Russian side, even from actual Russians.
The "Lindebeige," channel has an extended interview with a British legionaire. He was in the Legion from the beginning and has some interesting things to say (the incident with the spy and the sausage was the best bit )
Also, 2:30, I must say, your gran was a real looker.❤
God bless Ukraine 🇺🇦 🙏
God bless Palestine too bruv
@@TsarOfRuss yes obviously but people like you don’t realize care about palestine the country the people but as a tool
@@TsarOfRuss I'm with you there
This was very enlightening and a great explanation!
From what I've seen a lot of foriegn volunteers are equipped with very modern and high quality weapons like CZ Bren IIs or brand new M4A1s with ACOGs or Aimpoint CompM4s. Almost all have modern plate carriers and uniforms.
This makes sense because a lot of the donated weapons from friendly nations are not in large enough numbers to issue to the Ukrainian army generally and the foreign fighters are more likely familiar with the manual of arms.
If the volunteers were the ones being under equipped you'd expect to see more basic AK74s and Soviet style web gear. Instead I've seen the Territorial Defense Forces equipped very lightly, the regular Ukrainian army looking like a solid mix between modern equipment and older weapons, and the foreign legion being equipped like modern soldiers.
It is our duty as free men to stand up against tyrants like Putin, before the second world war our ancestors stood in silence. What has that brought our beautiful planet? Nothing but pain and despair!
We cannot bow or kneel to such people. Stand with those who would throw such shackles to the dirt! For these people will lead us to true victory.
Glory to Ukraine!
Fuck UA-cam censorship. Torture happens in real life. Get over it. What, we can't even talk about it and have a discussion about torture now? (7:15)
Creators can't even say the game name "7 Days to Die" now.
Ukraine has free press? lol you haven't kept up much.
Even the EU said Georgia was to blame.
Hello. I'm from Ukraine. I want to say a few words about the Legion.
At the very beginning of the war, many people wanted to join the Legion, thinking that it was like fighting in Call of Duty. In fact, many were driving for adrenaline. Of course, they were very disappointed after the early arrivals of the missiles. It turned out that you can die here. Therefore, in the first weeks, a large part of people dropped out.
That is why it was constantly indicated that experienced people are needed. And it is difficult and not easy even for the experienced, because almost no one had experience in a war of such a scale against a significantly superior enemy.
Everything is easier now. After stabilization of the front and the path traveled. Developed infrastructure, training, etc.
We especially need narrow specialists in Western technology. For example, for training on Patriot or other Western air defense systems.
Therefore, it is definitely not worth going to the Legion following the call of the heart without having skills.
If you don't have the skills, but you really want to help with your personal presence, there are a lot of volunteer organizations that help people. For example, with medicine, logistics, etc. This is an equally important matter. It is not necessary to risk your life.
When the call for volunteers first went out last year, it seemed authorities said they were requiring DD-214 or equivalent papers in order to be considered, but then it seemed not so since they got so many unqualified types? What happened with that? Screening using those papers as one requirement, at least by the first legit FL recruit familiar with discharge papers would be a simple thing.
@@NWer-c5u I suspect they had plenty of intent to do it properly but well shit hit the fan and it didn’t end up happening
By most accounts it’s far better now. War is chaos, it takes time to enforce some structure on it
THE RHETORIC OF THIS CHANNEL is very DIFFERENT, WHEN US TROOPS ATTACK another country, they are all heroes
Top notch as usual. Keep up the great informative work brother!
3:35 wtf is this nato map, Czechia is a member too
After Babiš speech :c)
Wow. Balanced reporting. So nuanced