A foreign fighter who identifies as an Australian has spoken out about his decision to travel to “distant” Ukraine to help “a country in need” while defending himself against the Russian invasion.
Key points:
- The Australian said he had joined other international volunteers in the Foreign Legion of Ukraine
- He said he hopes to inspire other foreign recruits to fight Russia
- The federal government has warned Australians not to join the war
Appearing in a recently released video, the unidentified soldier spoke of joining other international volunteers in the new military unit known as the Foreign Legion of Ukraine.
“I think it’s great, I think it’s an opportunity,” says the man, whose face is obscured by a mask, with a clear Australian accent.
His comments appeared in a TV report on Radio Svoboda presented from the leading city of Sievierodonetsk, where Ukrainian forces claimed to have reversed the Russian advance and recaptured about 20 percent of the city.
“I think since I came here it’s been amazing how many people from all over the world have come together to help a country that needs it,” he said.
Radio Svoboda, known elsewhere as Radio Free Europe, is a U.S. government-funded organization that broadcasts news in Eastern European and other parts of the world where the media is banned or restricted.
In the video in Ukrainian, the Australian volunteer fighter explained in English how he hoped to inspire other foreign recruits to join the war effort against Russia as well.
“I feel like it’s very, very inspiring to have a lot of these guys with previous experience to shake hands and take a step and volunteer,” he said.
“I’m from Australia, it’s quite far away, it’s very difficult to get here and I even went one step further; hopefully, I inspire more people to come and do the same.”
A second soldier, who speaks English with an American accent, said he was a “22-year-old boy” from Georgia and vowed to help push back the Russians.
Read more about the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
“We are on the right side of history,” he added.
The Australian government has repeatedly warned Australians not to join the war against Russia after the Ukrainian president established the Foreign Legion in February.
On Sunday, Defense Minister Richard Marles said he was unaware of the interview with the Australian soldier, but reiterated warnings that others should not go to the front line.
“Our message is that Australians should not be involved in foreign conflicts,” Marles told reporters at Geelong.
Government sources have told the CBA that up to 200 Australian and dual Ukrainian nationals are believed to have traveled to Europe to join the war effort, although no official figures have been released. .
Ukrainian officials on Saturday announced the deaths of four foreign military volunteers fighting Russian forces, but did not specify when or under what circumstances they were killed.
The International Defense Legion of Ukraine, an official brigade of volunteers, named the men and posted photos of them, saying they were from Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and France.
The death of Australian Michael O’Neill was first reported last month, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the 47-year-old’s death as a “tragedy”.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. Clock time: 2 minutes 29 seconds 2m 29s Ukrainian refugees are settling in life in Australia.