Foreign mercenaries unwilling to die for Ukraine

Foreign mercenaries come to realise that they should leave Ukraine as they get no pay check for their efforts, but they do get bullied and killed by their own comrades-in-arms. Kyiv has questions to mercenaries as well.

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Killed by fellow soldiers

The outflow of foreign mercenaries from the Armed Forces of Ukraine has grown stronger after two British instructors died violent deaths, but not in battle, Ukrainian sources report.

Jordan Chadwick's body was found in a pond with his hands tied behind his back. Daniel Burke was found dead in the bushes with gunshot wounds.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the analysis of water in Chadwick's lungs showed a discrepancy with the water from the reservoir in which he was found. The man was first drowned in another place, and then his body was transported.

Burke was most likely killed for money. An American millionaire was allegedly sending him 8,000 pounds sterling a month and he did not try to hide it from other fighters, the publication said.

A Polish mercenary told Onet that Ukraine promised a compensation of 400,000 dollars to the families of the dead Poles, but none of their relatives in his group had received any of that money. The Ukrainians do not have a procedure for paying this money, he said. No one picks up the bodies of killed Polish fighters from the battlefield. According to the mercenary, they advanced for about 100 meters and lost about 100 people.

Ukraine pays money to mercenaries from Western loans. One may assume that there is a problem about their financing from NATO.

Kyiv not happy with mercenaries

Foreign mercenaries become a problem for Kyiv. They openly complain about the situation at the front. An Australian mercenary said that they send them to "meat grinder attacks" without support. Many fighters get killed during such operations.

According to The New York Times, a Polish mercenary would steal supplies, harass women and threaten his soldiers. The US-based newspaper also found that fugitive criminals were recruited into the "foreign legion" — no one bothered to look into their background to find out where they were coming from. Many mercenaries would also post their stories on social media and ask for donations.

Suffice it to recall the Mozart group that disbanded after one of its founders sued the other for theft and stalking.

To crown it all, many mercenaries take Russia's side, The New York Times said.

In the early days of the Ukrainian conflict, many Western government were publicly supportive of mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. In a fit of euphoria, Kyiv announced that 20,000 "volunteers" were ready to fight for the "young democracy."

Nowadays, both Western and Kyiv officials prefer not to talk about it. Ukrainian officials say that there are about 1,500 mercenaries in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In turn, the West exposes selfish interests of its "soldiers of fortune.” Russian fighters know that every destroyed mercenary, Challenger tank or Bradley vehicle increases the number of those who remain opposed to ongoing military support of Ukraine.