#International legion

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.

If you ask people how they remember the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many picture scenes at the border— crowds of women and children fleeing Russian bombs. Some will also recall the thousands of men and women who returned from abroad to defend their homeland—including the foreigners who refused to stand by and watch and took up arms to help a country many had never even been to.

In June 2025, Ukraine passed its first-ever law to legalize multiple citizenships. This move could finally offer foreign fighters like Devon and James Fensom a legal path to stay in the country they risked their lives to defend from the Russian invasion.