A critical perspective in the New York Times on the Ukrainian International Legion group
The New York Times has reported before on the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine before. One report from last July began this way:
Four months after Russia invaded Ukraine, foreign combat veterans who answered the Ukrainian president’s call to fight are grappling with the grueling reality of a war unlike any they have seen.
Many are American and British veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they could count on calling in airstrikes for protection and other critical support. In Ukraine, the military effort is essentially bare-bones, leaving Ukrainian forces — and their foreign-fighter allies — to face a larger and better armed Russian invasion force without basics, like steady meals, and even some tools of modern warfare that would help them level the field.
“This is way more intense than what I saw in Afghanistan,” said Brian, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, who did not want his last name used for security reasons. “This is combat, combat.”
That reality, volunteer fighters say, has driven away some of the hundreds of men who first arrived in Ukraine to help fight what many felt was a just, and deeply lopsided, war. Of those who remain, some now work directly for the Ukrainian military, which has used them quietly and effectively to plug gaps in frontline abilities, including filling a desperate need for medics.1 [my emphasis]
Not all the foreign fighters were part of the Legion, which is part of the Ukrainian army. But that is the best-known of the groups and is formally run directly by the government. As with many news stories, a close reading of the body of the article gives a hint of the complexities involved and even poses questions in the readers’ minds: “Much of the International Legion’s carefully managed media efforts have been aimed at increasing foreign public support for Ukraine’s war effort and at making the case that Ukraine needs more advanced weapons.” (my emphasis)
And the reporters also provided this bit of information which gives important context the story of the foreign fighters in Ukraine:
Weeding out extremists from the many fighters who want to help Ukraine has proved tricky. Two frontline recruits, who did not want to give their names for security reasons, described meeting in safe houses with American and Scandinavian members of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, including some with prison tattoos, who were trying to make their way on their own to the battle.
Even the Legion may have had troubles. A photograph on its Facebook page of members who died portrayed a French casualty, Wilfried Blériot, wearing a patch from the “Misanthropic Division” — a far-right group with white supremacist views. In another photograph, posted on Telegram by the Misanthropic Division, he wears one of their T-shirts. [my emphasis]
This is a reminder that while the far right in Europe and the US at the moment tend to admire Russia and Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian far right has a heavy nationalist and anti-Russian component.
The NYT report for March 25 of this year focuses more on some of the dubious aspects of the foreign fighter contingents. The first four paragraphs of this story leave a different impression than the opening of the report from last July (one of the reporters, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, worked on both stories):
They rushed to Ukraine by the thousands, many of them Americans who promised to bring military experience, money or supplies to the battleground of a righteous war. Hometown newspapers hailed their commitment, and donors backed them with millions of dollars.
Now, after a year of combat, many of these homespun groups of volunteers are fighting with themselves and undermining the war effort. Some have wasted money or stolen valor. Others have cloaked themselves in charity while also trying to profit off the war, records show.
One retired Marine lieutenant colonel from Virginia is the focus of a U.S. federal investigation into the potentially illegal export of military technology. A former Army soldier arrived in Ukraine only to turn traitor and defect to Russia. A Connecticut man who lied about his military service has posted live updates from the battlefield — including his exact location — and boasted about his easy access to American weapons. A former construction worker is hatching a plan to use fake passports to smuggle in fighters from Pakistan and Iran.
And in one of the more curious entanglements, one of the largest volunteer groups is embroiled in a power struggle involving an Ohio man who falsely claimed to have been both a U.S. Marine and a LongHorn Steakhouse assistant manager. The dispute also involves a years-old incident on Australian reality TV.2
And they explain, “The Biden administration sends weapons and money but not professional troops. That means people who would not be allowed anywhere near the battlefield in a U.S.-led war are active on the Ukrainian front — often with unchecked access to weapons and military equipment.”
This latest piece also includes reporting on Malcolm Nance, who very prominently advertised his participation in the Legion and who has a background in US Naval Intelligence.3
Mr. Nance, whose television appearances have made him one of the most visible Americans supporting Ukraine, was an experienced military operator. He drafted a code of honor for the organization and, by all accounts, donated equipment.
Today, Mr. Nance is involved in a messy, distracting power struggle. Often, that plays out on Twitter, where Mr. Nance taunted one former ally as “fat” and an associate of “a verified con artist.”
He accused a pro-Ukraine fund-raising group of fraud, providing no evidence. After arguing with two Legion administrators, Mr. Nance wrote a “counterintelligence” report trying to get them fired. Central to that report is an accusation that one Legion official, Emese Abigail Fayk, fraudulently tried to buy a house on an Australian reality TV show with money she didn’t have. He labeled her “a potential Russian spy,” offering no evidence. Ms. Fayk denied the accusations and remains with the Legion.
Mr. Nance said that as a member of the Legion with an intelligence background, when he developed concerns, he “felt an obligation to report this to Ukrainian counterintelligence.”
The dispute goes to the heart of who can be trusted to speak for and raise money for the Legion. [my emphasis]
Many participants in such foreign-fighter units may have genuinely admirable goals and operate with real integrity. But wars are messy. And things don’t always work out as planned. To take another famous example of foreign fighters opposing a Russian (Soviet) invasion who were glorified in the American press even more than those currently in Ukraine:
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979 turned out to be - contrary to the expectations of the Kremlin leadership - the largest, longest, and costliest military operation in Soviet history. The United States, in support of the Afghan resistance, waged an exceedingly elaborate, expensive, and ultimately successful covert war. Unlike other proxy wars in Africa and South America, for the first time cver, the United States supported a guerrilla army firing on Soviet troops. With Pakistan's General Zia-ul-Haq as America's foremost ally and Saudi Arabia as the principal source of funds, the CIA openly recruited Islamic holy warriors from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria. Radical Islam went into overdrive as its superpower ally and mentor funneled support to the mujahideen. In 1988 Soviet troops withdrew unconditionally and U.S.-Pakistan-Saudi-Egypt alliance emerged victorious. A chapter of history seemed complete.
Appearances were illusory, however, and events over the next two decades were to reveal the true costs of the victory. Even in the mid-1990s -long before the 9/l l attack on the United States-was clear that the victorious alliance had unwittingly created a dynamic now beyond its control. The network of Islamic militant organizations created primarily out of the need to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan did not disappear after he immediate goal was achieved but, instead, like any good military-industrial complex, grew from strength to strength. lt now exists with extensive transnational cooperation, coordination, and close ties. Indeed these non-state actors have repeatedly targeted their former sponsors, as well as other states and governments globally-Pakistan, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, and the United States have been attacked in recent times.4 [my emphasis]
Although it’s hard to see how one would calculate the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan as “largest, longest, and costliest military operation in Soviet history.“ There was a long civil war after the 1917 revolution. And the Second World War was not an insignificant undertaking of the USSR!
And, as old-fashioned as it may sound, I’ll add: Congress should really be asking questions about this.
Gibbons-Neff, Thomas & Hopkins, Valerie & Arraf, Janes (2022): For Foreign Fighters in Ukraine, a War Unlike Any Theyʼve Seen. New York Times 07/07/2023. <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/world/europe/foreign-fighters-ukraine.html> (Accessed: 2023-27-03).
Scheck, Justin & Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (2023): Stolen Valor: The U.S. Volunteers in Ukraine Who Lie, Waste and Bicker. New York Times 03/25/2023. <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/world/europe/volunteers-us-ukraine-lies.html> (Accessed: 2023-27-03).
Miller, Bruce (2022): What is the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine? Contradicciones 07/31/2022. (Accessed: 2023-27-03).
Hoodbhoy, Pervez (2005): Afghanistan and the Genesis of Global Jihad. Peace Research 37:1, 15-30. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/24469676> (Accessed: 2023-27-03).