The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, is a military unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces composed of foreign volunteers. It was created on 27 February 2022 by the Ukrainian government at the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fight against the Russian invasion of the country. It was originally part of the Territorial Defense Forces, under the name of International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine, eventually transitioning to the command of the Ukrainian Ground Forces at some point in its existence. The most effective combat units and soldiers were transferred under the auspices of the Main Directorate of Intelligence as the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
History Formation of the unit On 27 February 2022 (three days after the invasion began), under the order by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the unit was created to join the defense against the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its formation was announced in a statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Kuleba promoted the unit on Twitter, inviting individuals to apply and stating that "together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin too." On 7 March, the Ukrainian Armed Forces released the first image of International Legion soldiers in trenches on the outskirts of Kyiv and announced that new groups were being deployed to the front each day.
The arriving volunteers were initially registered at Lviv From there, they were transferred to the Yavoriv military base where recruits were sorted according to their previous military experience.Freeman 2025, pp. 35-36 Some volunteers, known derisively as "screamers", had arrived with no military training; many of these turned for home after the base was attacked by a Russian missile on 13 March, possibly prompted by inexperienced volunteers posting their whereabouts on social media.Freeman 2025, pp. 37-40 Some veteran volunteers decided not to wait at the base to be organised into units, but made their own way towards the front line, hoping to be accepted into existing combat formations.Freeman 2025, pp. 42-43
Foreign volunteers had first come to Ukraine in 2014, to join the fight against Russian separatist forces as members of Ukrainian volunteer battalions that have been created after the start of the War in the Donbas. Most foreign fighters arrived throughout the summer of 2014, and on 6 October 2014, the Ukrainian parliament voted to allow foreigners to join the Ukrainian military.
While these units have officially been integrated into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, some units such as the Georgian Legion still exercise some autonomy. Prior to the formation of the International Legion, the Georgian Legion was used to train English-speaking foreign volunteers. Kacper Rękawek, a researcher on foreign fighters in Ukraine, believes the majority of Western fighters prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine passed through the Georgian Legion.
Other foreign volunteer battalions in the Ukrainian military included the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion and Sheikh Mansur Battalion both formed by anti-Russian and anti-Ramzan Kadyrov Chechens, and the Tactical Group "Belarus" (formed by anti-Lukashenko Belarusians).
While Rękawek said that some foreign fighters that traveled to Ukraine in 2014 held extremist political beliefs and supported the Azov Battalion or the Russian separatist forces in Donbas, the foreign fighters travelling to Ukraine in early 2022 "don't appear to be motivated, as a group, by a certain set of ideological tropes". He also said the mobilization of foreign fighters in 2022 is much larger than the mobilization in 2014. According to Rękawek, the formation of the International Legion was "an attempt to internationalize the conflict via mobilization of Western individuals for the Ukrainian cause. This development would also assist in embarrassing the Western governments, who in the eyes of many Ukrainians are not doing enough to support Kyiv."
Subsequent developments On 11 April 2023, defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov invited foreign F-16 pilots to join the international legion and fly combat missions for Ukraine, as well as those who know how to maintain Western-made artillery and tanks.
On June 18, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law reducing the necessary contract time for foreign fighters to apply for Ukrainian citizenship from three years to one, as well as introducing a special certificate for foreigners who cannot travel abroad obtain or exchange a passport in their country of origin due to threats or political circumstances.
According to reports published in the Kyiv Independent, the International Legion will eventually merge with regular Ukrainian military units. Many volunteers criticized this move as a "fracture" and "dissolv[ing]."Exclusive: Ukraine’s foreign legion to be effectively dismantled, volunteers sound alarm. November 21, 2025. Asami Terajima. Jared Goyette.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Legion will be disbanded on 31 December 2025, with a planned transfer of foreign volunteers into a new branch of assault troops with drone components. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine will keep its status as an international unit.
On August 28, 2026, a draft bill was submitted by the Ukrainian government to give foreign and stateless nationals who served in the Ukrainian military more time to formalize their residency status after the end of their contract.
On September 18, 2026, the National Guard of Ukraine created a recruiting center for foreign volunteers.
Historical comparisons
Many commentators have compared the International Legion to the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War, which comprised foreign volunteers who supported the Second Spanish Republic against the Nationalist faction led by fascist general Francisco Franco that sought to overthrow the Republic.
Other commentators have criticized this comparison. Sebastiaan Faber of Oberlin College in the U.S. argued that depicting the Legion as part of a war between fascism and anti-fascism risks playing "into the Kremlin's narrative, which seeks to portray the "special military operation" as an effort to "denazify" its western neighbor." Critics have also highlighted differences in the makeup of the two international units: volunteers to Spain generally lacked military experience, while those to Ukraine tend to have prior military experience. Moreover, the Brigades were organized by the Communist International, and thus mostly comprised communists with backgrounds in labour movements, whereas the Ukrainian Legion is composed of volunteers from a broader spectrum of ideologies.
Elizabeth Grasmeder of Duke University has compared Ukraine's foreign legion to Finland's efforts to recruit legionnaires and other foreign volunteers during the Winter War (1939–1940). Grasmeder argues states are likely to recruit foreign volunteers when fighting wars of "national survival" against another state attempting to annex their territory. Ukraine's conflict with Russia is an interstate conflict of "national survival" against annexation, as was Finland's with the Soviet Union.
In establishing the force, Ukraine joined more than 90 other nations that have recruited legionnaires and raised foreign legions over the previous two centuries.
A modern-day organization that holds the same name and has a similar structure is the Interbrigades, a pro-Russian militia operating in Donbas since 2014.
Recruitment and selection
Early recruitment efforts prioritized former soldiers, especially those with experience in combat. However, regardless of their experience, most of the volunteers who reached Lviv and applied in the early days of the war were accepted.
The First Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine, Yevhen Yenin, announced in March 2022 that volunteers to the International Legion would be eligible for Ukrainian citizenship, if desired. The necessary probation period is the duration of the war.
As of January 2025, the standard contract length was three years, however soldiers could terminate their contracts at any time. Starting May 2024, Ukraine began prohibiting soldiers from terminating their contracts before completing six months of service. Monthly pay matches enlisted soldier pay in regular Ukrainian units, ranging from approximately $550 per month for rear-line troops to $4800 per month while on a combat deployment.
Selection criteria have broadened since 2022, and now the International Legion accepts those without any experience in military organizations, so long as they demonstrate a willingness to serve. Priority is still given to combat veterans, former military personnel, and other people experienced in relevant fields such as firefighting, medical aid, and law enforcement. Additionally, applicants must be fluent in either English, Spanish, or the Ukrainian language. Applicants must have no criminal record. Candidates receive a physical health assessment before being admitted, which includes an assessment of physical fitness.
Almost all International Legion soldiers receive some amount of training before joining their unit in the Ukrainian military. For those who recently left military service and are thus expected to have a strong foundation of combat skills and drills, only 1–2 weeks of training is required to familiarize them with Ukrainian communications and command structure. For those with less experience, they are put through an expedited form of basic combat training that often lasts up to 6 weeks.
In May 2024, a spokesman for the legion said that people from more than 100 nations had joined the unit.
Strength and organization
Kacper Rękawek, a researcher on foreign fighters in Ukraine, stressed the large number of volunteers announced by Ukraine were "people who applied, who got in touch with the Ukrainian Embassy" and not necessarily the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine.
On 3 March 2022, Zelenskyy announced 16,000 foreign volunteers had attempted to join the International Legion.
On 7 March 2022, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that more than 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries have volunteered to fight for Ukraine. He did not mention the home countries of the volunteers, saying that some of the countries forbid their citizens from fighting for other countries. He also did not specify how many of the foreign volunteers have arrived in Ukraine.
However, investigations in early 2023 by the New York Times and VICE have placed the number of foreign fighters far lower, stating that there were actually only 1,5002,000 foreign fighters supporting Ukraine. Marco Bocchese, an assistant professor of international relations at Webster Vienna Private University, called the claim of 20,000 volunteers "pure propaganda".
Recruits with past military experience have described the legion as insufficiently officered, leading to unnecessary casualties.
Government acknowledgment of nationals serving in the International Legion In early March 2022, a French government adviser confirmed a dozen French nationals were in Ukraine and had likely joined the International Legion.
The first photo distributed by the Ukrainian armed forces of the International Legion included members from the United Kingdom,Accessed 30 April 2022, Absent UK soldiers may have travelled to Ukraine, British Army says BBC.com Mexico, the United States, India, Sweden, and Lithuania.