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What’s Happening to Ukraine’s International Legions, Explained
As Ukraine continues adapting its military structure in the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, questions have emerged about the future of its foreign volunteer units.
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![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
In recent weeks, claims that Ukraine is “disbanding” its International Legions have circulated across social media and messaging channels, fueling uncertainty among foreign fighters and their supporters. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense stressed in a report on February 13 that those claims are not accurate.
The International Legions are not being shut down. They are being reorganized to improve coordination, strengthen battlefield protection, and better integrate foreign volunteers into experienced combat brigades.
Here’s what that means.
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What are Ukraine’s International Legions?
The “International Legion” is not a single military unit. It is a collective term used for a network of foreign volunteer formations operating across multiple branches of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
At the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine created infantry-based international battalions within the Ground Forces and Territorial Defense to receive and deploy foreign volunteers quickly. These units are now undergoing structural changes.
But they are only part of the bigger system.
Foreign fighters continue serving in specialized units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, where they take part in complex reconnaissance missions. Others are integrated into combat groups within Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces. The National Guard of Ukraine also includes foreign volunteers in its brigades, including the operational brigade known as “Khartia.”
In other words, the foreign volunteer movement in Ukraine remains active across multiple levels of the defense structure, from infantry to special operations.
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Are the International Legions being disbanded?
No.
The Ministry of Defense states clearly that the Legions are not disappearing. Instead, separate “light” infantry battalions composed of foreign volunteers are being integrated into established, experienced brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Rather than operating as standalone formations, these units are becoming part of larger mechanized or combined-arms brigades. The goal is to embed foreign fighters within structures that already have heavy equipment, logistics systems, and coordinated command chains.
Why integrate foreign volunteers into line brigades?
The primary reason is protection and effectiveness.
Previously, international battalions often operated as light infantry. Within a full brigade structure, foreign units gain access to armored vehicles, artillery support, and more robust logistical backing.
According to the Ministry, the reason is not to send volunteers into higher-risk assault roles, but to ensure that similar combat tasks are carried out with stronger heavy-weapon support and better coordination.
Integration is intended to reduce vulnerability, improve battlefield communication, and align foreign volunteers with the same operational standards and resources as Ukrainian units.
What about specialists like medics and drone operators?
Specialized volunteers will continue serving in their professional roles.
Snipers, drone operators, paramedics, and other narrow-profile specialists are assigned to relevant companies within their new brigades. The Ministry emphasizes that expertise will be used according to qualification, not reassigned arbitrarily.
Foreign volunteers also retain the right to transfer between units. If a specific brigade does not suit them, they may apply to serve in other structures, including the Main Intelligence Directorate, Special Operations Forces, or the National Guard.
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Equal status and guarantees
The Ministry of Defense underlined that foreign citizens defending Ukraine have the same rights, social guarantees, and level of support as Ukrainian servicemembers.
The reorganization, officials say, is part of an effort to remove structural barriers between Ukrainian and foreign fighters and to consolidate them into a single, more cohesive military force.
Despite online claims suggesting otherwise, Ukraine’s International Legions are not being dissolved. They are being reshaped to reflect the realities of a prolonged, large-scale war—and to ensure that foreign volunteers remain integrated, protected, and operationally effective within Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
Earlier, it was reported that a new assault unit composed primarily of Colombian fighters has been formally established within Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
Known as the R.U.G.—short for Reconnaissance-Strike Group—the assault company includes not only Colombian nationals but also foreign volunteers from Peru, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Italy, and Mexico.
-c726001cdb2cf6b5fe9b00a6860ba463.jpg "Model of Shershen multi-caliber air defense system at the World Defense Show, February 2026. (Source: Militarnyi)")