Ukraine plans to effectively dismantle one of the main structures that has brought foreign volunteers into its ranks, the International Legion under the Ground Forces, according to sources, leaving legionnaires worried they will lose the unit’s hard-won identity and be scattered into unfamiliar structures in a way they say could cost lives.

“Our biggest worry is just that we’ll be moved around and units will be pulled apart, and we’ll basically be funneled into where they feel like they need to put us in order to make this work,” a soldier who has fought with the Legion for a year and a half told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.

“This is (about a thousand soldiers) being moved into different areas, falling under their command, and with that kind of change will come mistakes. Mistakes that could have been prevented by just keeping the structure that we have now," he added.

The Ground Forces, which the Legion is subordinate to, has not responded to the Kyiv Independent’s request for reasons or more details about the expected structural change by publication time. The plan does not impact the other International Legion under the Defense Ministry’s military intelligence (HUR).

Founded in February 2022 at the request of President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Legion allowed foreigners to fight alongside the Ukrainian army, and has had both battlefield and political impact throughout the war.

The current plan involves the Legion’s three combat battalions being transferred separately to an assault regiment or brigade, an officer familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity. The officer, along with several legionnaires interviewed, said they are speaking out in an effort to preserve the Legion in its current form, arguing there is no need for a change.

It is unclear whether the assault regiment or brigade to which the legionnaires would be transferred will be under the command of Ground Forces or the newly created Assault Forces, according to the officer. The transfer is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the officer said, adding that the units would cease to exist under an independent umbrella of the Legion.

      • RiverRock@lemmy.ml
        164·
        1 day ago

        Trying to imply that what’s happening in Ukraine is the same as what’s happening in Palestine is truly braindead, and i think you know that or you’d have said something.more specific.

          • RiverRock@lemmy.ml
            102·
            20 hours ago

            Ukraine never attacked Russia before Russia started the war.

            Yeah they were just doing ten years of ethnic cleansing against ethnic Russians in their own country, not like Israel at all🤷‍♂️

            Both are invading other countries for bullshit reasons though.

            Damn, whitewashing two genocidal regimes with one sentence, that’s real efficiency baybee

            So no, I don’t think like you.

            You people all try to do mic drops like lyrical miracle rappers and it’s so embarassing

              • BrainInABox@lemmy.mlEnglish
                4·
                1 hour ago

                Tankie is when you aren’t an apologist for genocide.

                You were activity repeating Israeli lies to defend it.

              • RiverRock@lemmy.ml
                92·
                19 hours ago

                OK, I know tankies live in a different reality

                You can just call it reality

                how you interpret me as defending Israel.

                Whitewashing, I said. Pay attention, because words mean things. By referring to what the zionist entity is doing as “an invasion” and not a genocide, and especially in order to try and draw a comparison to Russia’s decidedly non genocidal actions, you are downplaying the full on extermination campaign being waged by Israel, much like how people calling it the “Israel-Hamas War” in the beginning were downplaying it.

                Now address the Ukranian coup government’s ten years of ethnic cleansing.

                  • BrainInABox@lemmy.mlEnglish
                    4·
                    1 hour ago

                    I read what you wrote. It was active genocide apologia.

                    So with that said, have a nice day.

                    Go back to reddit, you fucking loser

                  • RiverRock@lemmy.ml
                    81·
                    16 hours ago

                    is asked to address the ethnic cleansing they are whitewashing

                    immediately runs away

                    Perfect, no notes

              • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
                9·
                1 day ago

                Nah, my app is slow and showed me your unedited comment in the mail box and I only saw you edited your comment after I send mine, because my app only then refreshed it.

                It took me few seconds to edit it, so you still very fast

                And I forgot to ask: why are you not answering my question but rather try to evade? Not owning up to your own words regarding certain actions and words?

                Why aren’t you answering to my question first, it might not be specifically aimed to you, but you turned out to be the scissors that sounded very triggered by the question, so i would assume you are posting this from Pokrovsk after all?