20,000 foreigners have joined Ukrainian forces in fight against Russia: Report A soldier with the Ukrainian Land Forces loads an 82mm mortar. (Adriana M. Diaz-Brown/TNS)
As many as 20,000 foreigners are currently fighting in the Ukrainian armed forces against the ongoing invasion by Russia, according to The Kyiv Independent, one of Ukraine’s top English language newspapers. The paper also reported, citing a government minister, that foreign citizens, if they want, can apply for Ukrainian citizenship as well.
“Foreign volunteers will be able to obtain Ukrainian citizenship if they want to, First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said on March 9. Twenty thousand foreign volunteers have joined Ukrainian forces to fight Russia since March 6,” the Kyiv Post said on Twitter.
On February 27, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the formation of an ‘international brigade’ under which foreign nationals, willing to fight for the eastern European nation, would be able to volunteer for the same by visiting Ukrainian embassies in their respective countries to sign up to fight.
Since then, there have been reports of citizens of various countries, including Japan and India, volunteering to fight for Ukraine.
In order to fight against Russia, which began invasion of its neighbour on February 24, Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged the United Nations, as well as organizations such as the NATO and EU to provide his country with arms and ammunition. World governments have responded by provide aid to Ukraine—financial and military—and imposing sanctions against Russian businessmen, as well as members of President Vladimir Putin’s regime, including Putin himself.
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