The decision was made without press conferences or solemn statements. On December 31, 2025, the Ukrainian General Staff discreetly announced the dissolution of the International Legion for Territorial Defense, the unit created in February 2022 by order of the president Volodymyr Zelenski to channel the arrival of foreign volunteers after the Russian invasion that started that same month. For many of its members, it was as unexpected as it was demoralizing.
Bjorn Kallsoy, known by his nom de guerre Vikingis one of them, and one of those who speaks in this . Dane from the Faroe Islands, 45 years old, with a shaved head and a body full of tattoos, drags his backpack through a cheap hotel in Krivoy Rog, in the south of the country. He enlisted in 2023, he says, “devastated by Russian war crimes”. Today he confesses to be.
A late announcement and forced transfers
Although the dissolution became official at the end of December, many legionnaires knew beforehand that something was not right. On November 1, 2025, members of the 2nd Battalion—to which he belonged Viking— received a sudden order: pack your bags and move that same day. Two months later, the decision was made public.
The battalion achieved an extension until February 15, but finally its troops were integrated into the 253rd Assault Regiment of the 129th Territorial Defense Brigade, a unit with very different missions. , summarizes the Danish fighter. “We are crammed in a barracks without water or internet for days. There is no training. “Many have left.”
“A waste of resources”
The harshest criticism comes from within the army itself. Andrii Spivak, chief of staff of the 2nd Battalion and the only Ukrainian officer who has agreed to speak publicly, calls the decision “an incredible waste of resources”.
“We were the only unit where all the officers were bilingual,” he explains. Recruitment, training and command were designed to integrate foreigners. Additionally, they had developed a hybrid doctrine, with two-thirds drone operators and one-third infantry. “Now they are sent to assault units. All those capabilities are at risk of being lost”regrets.
Fewer volunteers than expected
Official figures on the total number of foreigners who passed through the International Legion were never published. According to military sources, several thousand signed three-year contracts, but the initial goal of 20,000 fighters by 2022 was never reached. As a historical comparison, Between 32,000 and 35,000 volunteers fought in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
Foreign volunteers receive the same salary as Ukrainian soldiers, but with one key difference: They can terminate their contract after six months of service. That clause has caused a strong rotation since 2022.
At the beginning, Americans, French or British predominated; In 2025, South Americans, especially Colombians, were the largest group.
This wear and tear partly explains the restructuring. By 2025, the Legion had four battalions, between 400 and 600 theoretical troops.. He participated in key operations: the liberation of the Kupiansk region in 2022, the summer 2023 counterattack in the Bakhmut sector, and later, the defense of Vovchansk and Chasiv Yar.
Fear of losing the “safe environment”
For many foreigners, the problem is not to continue fighting, but where and how. “Everyone fears ending up in a unit whose commander doesn’t speak English”resume Viking. The Legion offered, he says, “a safe environment” for volunteers without proficiency in Ukrainian.
Karl, a 53-year-old American combat medic, goes further. If the 2nd Battalion is permanently disbanded, he plans to break his contract. “We risk our lives and they abandon us. It’s a slap in the face”he states.
He had one year left to apply for Ukrainian citizenship, but the counter reset after the transfer. “It is a terrible message for future volunteers”.
A decision that leaves open questions
Ukraine maintains another international legion linked to military intelligence (HUR), focused on combatants with previous experience, which has not been disbanded. But the disappearance of the International Territorial Defense Legion comes at a critical moment: The war continues without signs of detente and the Ukrainian armed forces suffer from serious personnel shortages.
Unlike the French Foreign Legion, created in the 19th century for colonial purposes, the Ukrainian one was born in response to an invasion. Its silent dissolution not only affects hundreds of foreign volunteers. Raises questions about kyiv’s long-term strategy in a war that, even its combatants, assume is still going on for a long time.
