Hundreds of Canadians make their way to Ukraine to fight alongside locals as war between Russia and Ukraine continues.
QUICK FACTS:
- Roughly 550 Canadian soldiers have made their way to Kyiv, Ukraine to fight in the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to RMX News.
- The North American soldiers have come in such numbers that they’ve formed their own battalion within the army stationed in Kyiv.
- Former Canadian MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj asserted that around 1,000 Canadians have applied to travel to Ukraine through online applications or contacting the Ukrainian Embassy.
- Wrzesnewskyj, who is responsible for assisting Ukrainian officials with recruitment for the International Legion, said that there are also plenty of Canadians that have traveled without official permission to be part of the fighting force.
STATEMENT FROM INTERNATIONAL LEGION:
- “What is so heartfelt is that we have so many Canadian ex-military who are stepping forward and understand that this is just so fundamentally wrong,” Wrzesnewskyj said about the response to Russia’s invasion. “They by nature are protectors and they are willing to step forward and travel to Ukraine.”
- Representatives from the International Legion have also said Ukraine would like airlines to give free flights to Europe for volunteers so as to clear the way for those who would fight for the Ukrainian cause.
BACKGROUND:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put out a call for a number of support items, including not only soldiers but fighter planes during his plea to the United States Congress, according to CBS News.
- Currently, however, foreign volunteers who have joined the international brigade are still waiting for weapons and training, according to The Boston Globe.
- Western governments encouraging their citizens to enlist in Ukraine will be responsible for their death, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Monday, vowing to continue the strikes such as the one that destroyed the Yavorov base and show no mercy to mercenaries.
- “All locations of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine are known to us,” Russian military spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement on Monday. “I want to warn you again – there will be no mercy for the mercenaries, no matter where they are on the territory of Ukraine.”
