How foreign fighters advanced behind the front lines

They have already fought against the IS in Syria and are now in Ukraine: Volunteer foreign fighters report on their deployment.

Kherson (Ukraine) – “We spent a great day in Kherson,” wrote Macer Gifford on Twitter. “It was great to walk the streets and see what we were fighting for.” Gifford calls himself a human rights activist and claims on Twitter that he has already fought against IS in Syria. He is currently in the Ukraine war on Ukraine’s side, against Russia – in a battalion of volunteer fighters who do reconnaissance duties for the Ukrainian army.

The Briton, along with other men from his squad, showed a CNN reporter what happened in the days before the visit to Cherson. Videos show, among other things, how the fighters capture a wounded Russian.

Ukraine War: Before liberating Cherson, Trupp advanced behind front line

The head of the scouting party, Andrii Pidlisnyi, calls himself “Sneaky” according to CNN. Under his leadership, the fighters got so close to the Russians that they could hear them talking, cooking or chopping wood. Once a Russian was captured who was left wounded by his comrades. The unit consists of well-trained international fighters, including from Germany, New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

Another member of the troop estimates that Russia lost about half of its soldiers in the fighting for Cherson. A self-recorded video shows Russian soldiers fleeing to a shelter under bombardment, which the patrol team reports to the Ukrainian military using a drone. Seconds later, the Russian men’s shelter collapses under the impact of rockets. Modern Western weapons made the difference for Ukraine, according to the fighters.

Ukraine war: Brit compares liberated Cherson with liberation of Syrian villages from IS

The fact that the fighters can now celebrate together with the Ukrainian population is a fairly new feeling. Jordan O’Brien, a 29-year-old New Zealander, told CNN he had been fighting Russia since June. “It’s been months of frustration,” he says. They hardly moved forward and felt that they could not influence the course of the war.

“The last few months have been very intense,” agrees Gifford. “The Russians are using every damn tactic in the books, including massive shelling of civilian areas. Something like that destroys the soul.” The Ukrainian counter-offensive around Cherson only started months after the Russian army was able to expand its positions. The artillery fire in particular had worn everyone down. Luckily everyone in the unit survived.

The message from Russian withdrawal from Cherson relieved them all. They only believed it when they walked through the villages where the positions of the Russian army were deserted and the Ukrainians welcomed them with open arms. “It felt like in Syria when we liberated villages from IS,” says Gifford. “Everything was worth it.” (kat)