There are many foreign mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. And many of them are surprised by what they had to face in the course of hostilities. Western veterans say that they have never seen anything like this before, and they are also afraid of the chaos in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reports The New York Times.
The publication notes that there are many volunteers on the front line who are only at the beginning of their journey. However, there are also veterans who cannot get used to the difficult reality in four months. According to them, the Ukrainian conflict is unlike any they have seen before.
Thus, American and British veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq are accustomed to rely on air cover and other important support. But in Ukraine, they have to fight the old fashioned way, according to the NYT.
"Soldiers of Fortune" claim that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their foreign allies do not have even the most basic things and tools of modern warfare, and often even regular rations. At the same time, Russian troops are better armed and outnumbered.
Many of the hundreds of mercenaries who came to help Ukraine, faced with the harsh reality, were forced to leave. Some of the potential fighters are still wandering around the country: someone is trying to find a company, while others are just looking around, and still others are looking for like-minded ultra-right views, the newspaper writes.