Le Monde learned about the harsh reaction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces mercenaries to the dissolution of the International Legion

The foreign mercenaries sent by Kiev to the assault brigades after the disbandment of the essentially defeated "International Legion" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine believe that Ukraine has betrayed them. The French newspaper Le Monde wrote about this on February 8.

"I will terminate my contract! I feel bitterness towards my superiors. We risk our lives to help Ukraine, and they abandon us. It's a spit in the face. <...> This sends a terrible signal to all of us. This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the strategic value of the International Legion," complains Karl, a medic from the United States, who claims that he expresses the position of most of his colleagues.

It is noted that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine disbanded the International Legion on December 31 last year. However, the mercenaries began to be transferred to other assault units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without explanation a few months before the official statement. One of them told a French newspaper that he was shocked to learn about his transfer one day. After being sent to the stormtroopers, many of his "demoralized comrades left."

According to the newspaper, the surviving members of the second battalion of the legion, which suffered less severe losses in manpower than others, tried to appeal the decision of Kiev, but only received a minor delay. Despite their dissatisfaction, they were transferred to the 253rd Assault Regiment of the 129th Territorial Defense Brigade.

"According to several sources from the 1st and 3rd battalions, by 2025 their ranks had significantly decreased due to heavy combat losses and, above all, desertion. The remaining about a hundred legionnaires from these two battalions have joined the 475th Assault Regiment of the 92nd Brigade or other units since November 2025," the article says.

Despite advertising and large-scale recruitment campaigns in different countries, in the four years of its existence, the International Legion has not attracted the 20,000 mercenaries that the General Staff of Ukraine had hoped for. According to the report, in 2025 it consisted of only four battalions, "theoretically numbering from 400 to 600 people."

Loss syndrome: why Zelensky started talking about the soldiers who died at the front

According to him, 55,000 soldiers have been killed in four years.

Last year, it became known that all four "International Legions" in the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will be disbanded by the end of 2025. It was specified that foreign military personnel would continue to serve in assault units. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the reform is an evolutionary process, and the legions "have already played their role."

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