Foreign volunteers in Ukraine's army describe scant training, missing status documents and demanded fees
A UN working group is preparing a report on foreign volunteer service conditions in Ukraine's armed forces, which may criticize missing documentation and delayed payments to fallen soldiers' families. Volunteers interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda describe minimal weapons training, unissued combatant-status papers and demands for unofficial payments.
In September 2026, the UN Working Group on Mercenaries is set to present a report on the recruitment of foreign nationals, including Colombians, into armed formations in several countries, Ukraine among them. Researchers interviewed roughly a thousand veterans of the Russia-Ukraine war and their family members for the study. Sources in diplomatic circles told Ukrainska Pravda the report may criticize the conditions under which foreign volunteers serve in Ukraine.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi confirmed the ministry is aware the report is being prepared, has asked the Working Group's secretariat to include Ukraine's comments, and has invited UN experts to visit Ukraine to examine the cases in question.
Missing paperwork and alleged fees
The report may highlight failures to pay families of fallen foreign soldiers the benefits they are owed, as well as difficulties confirming official combatant status. Veteran and journalist Lera Burlakova, who works with foreign volunteers, says many leave Ukraine because of military and state bureaucracy.
"Gator," an American who joined the International Legion in 2023, criticizes the basic training he received, saying he fired only seven rounds between February and May that year. He later helped form an assault unit called Chosen Company, which transferred to the 59th Brigade. After being wounded, he says he never received his full set of service documents, including his combatant status certificate, complicating his attempt to rejoin the armed forces.
Burlakova recounts a case where, out of 40 foreign nationals in one training group, only three received military IDs; some of the others were later killed in action without ever obtaining documentation, leaving their families without payments. Gator also says some Chosen Company soldiers were asked by staff officers to pay about $560 each as a purported service fee for processing paperwork — he says he paid twice. The 59th Brigade's command said it was hearing of such payment demands for the first time and would investigate.
Immigration hurdles
Some volunteers, including a South African known as Martin and Belarusian fighters, face potential imprisonment in their home countries and hope to remain in Ukraine legally but encounter complicated residency procedures. Rights lawyers note recent legislative changes have reduced the required service period for an immigration permit from three years to one.
