Around 600 foreign nationals sign contracts with Ukrainian defence forces every month

Kostiantyn Milevskyi, Deputy Head of the Department for Coordination of Foreign Military Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has said that volunteer soldiers from 75 countries have joined units of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, with around 600 volunteer soldiers signing contracts each month.

Source: Milevskyi in an interview with Donbas Realii, a project of Radio Liberty

Quote: "It is a bit colder now. People from warmer countries are less likely to come. We can subtract up to 50 people from those 600. When it gets warmer, there will be slightly more. But we are talking about an average figure."

Details: According to Milevskyi, the total number of foreign volunteer soldiers who have served or continue to serve in Ground Forces units exceeds 10,000.

"We are not trying to recruit more people into the Armed Forces than we can properly support. What does support mean? It means training, combat coordination and providing them with weapons and uniforms. Of course, the number could be increased to 1,000, 1,500 or even 10,000, but if there is no one to work with these people, there will be no result," Milevskyi explained.

Foreign nationals also serve in units of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and the National Guard. Formally, within the defence forces, they have the same rights and obligations as Ukrainian citizens. The key difference is that they may terminate their contract at their own request after six months of service.

Background: In November 2025, the Ukrainian Ground Forces reported that a new model for foreign military service was being introduced in the Defence Forces, giving foreign personnel broader opportunities, including the right to choose a combat brigade, operational direction and service specialisation.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!