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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Israeli foreign fighters helping fight Russia in Ukraine - report
2022-04-28
Photos and videos at the link. There are lots of Jews from the former Soviet Union in Israel, and many have ties of sentiment to their former homeland.
[Jpost] A video of what appears to be Israelis fighting for Ukraine has been circulating on social media since Sunday, as Russia's invasion has entered into its third month.

"We want to give many thanks to all the nation of Israel, to the government of Israel, for helping us while we can fight against the Russians, in this difficult war," said one fighter in accented Hebrew.

The footage was posted by a popular Twitter account of a Canadian volunteer that claims to be fighting the Russian military in the Kherson area. The strategic port city of Kherson was conquered by Russia early in the war.

UKRAINIAN FOREIGN LEGION
It is unknown if the alleged Israelis shown in the video are joint Ukrainian-Israeli citizens who have enlisted into the main military branches of Ukraine's armed forces or have enlisted as foreign fighters.

Ukraine has formed a foreign legion division and a foreign fighter special forces unit for foreign volunteers. The Ukrainian military has claimed that 20,000 foreigners from 52 countries have applied to enlist. The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine website lists Israel on its website, with local contact information to facilitate Israeli enlistment.

At the war's outset, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel invited Israelis to volunteer in the fight in Ukraine, but the Facebook post was soon deleted. Over a dozen Israelis reportedly joined the fight after the embassy's call to arms, but since then, there has not been much news about Israelis fighting in Ukraine.

At the beginning of March, Russia warned that it would not treat what it calls "foreign mercenaries" as lawful combatants, and would not provide them the rights due under international humanitarian law.
Posted by:Skidmark

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