The agency reported, citing the Operations Channel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on “Telegram”, that a large number of volunteers are veterans who fought battles in Iraq and other hot spots around the world.
According to the channel, the total number of foreign volunteers to fight in Ukraine against Russian forces amounted to 16,000.
A few days ago, Ukraine announced that it had received thousands of requests from foreigners, who expressed their willingness to join what it called the “International Legion”, which President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed his intention to form to fight Russian forces.
“We have already received several thousand requests from foreigners who want to join the resistance against the Russian occupiers and protect global security from Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Facebook.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a week ago that Ukraine would create an “international” corps of volunteers from abroad.
“This will be the main evidence of your support for our country,” Zelensky said in a statement.
Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian authorities have spoken of their need to help civilians in fighting Russian forces, and videos have shown the distribution of hand weapons to urban residents.