My mates have died, and are dying. I’ve seen things out here that, from a military perspective, are beyond unacceptable,” says one Australian fighter

“我的战友们已经死了，还有人在死去。我在这里见证了一些军事角度来看是无法接受的事情，”一名澳大利亚战士说道。

From the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, thousands of foreign mercenaries have joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces. They came to Ukraine from all over the world, but mostly from Poland, the US, and Canada. Recently, however, it seems that their interest in fighting for Kiev has significantly faded. This is evident both from estimates provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense and from foreign media reports.

自俄罗斯对乌克兰进行军事行动以来，成千上万名外国雇佣兵加入了乌克兰武装部队。他们来自世界各地，尤其是波兰、美国和加拿大。然而，最近看来，他们对为基辅争斗的兴趣显著减退。这一点无论是俄罗斯国防部提供的估计还是外国媒体报道都可以明显看出。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Mercenaries are losing interest
Since February 24, 2022, a projected 11,675 foreign mercenaries from 84 countries have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This was stated by the Russian Ministry of Defense on July 10.
The largest numbers of mercenaries apparently came from Poland (over 2,600), the US and Canada (over 900 from each), Georgia (over 800), Great Britain and Romania (over 700 each), Croatia (over 300), as well as from France and the part of Syria controlled by Türkiye (over 200 each).

雇佣兵失去了兴趣 根据俄罗斯国防部于今年7月10日发布的声明，自2022年2月24日起，来自84个国家的预计11,675名外国雇佣兵加入了乌克兰武装部队（AFU）。 雇佣兵中人数最多的显然来自波兰（超过2,600人），其次是美国和加拿大（每国超过900人），还有格鲁吉亚（超过800人），英国和罗马尼亚（每国超过700人），克罗地亚（超过300人），以及来自叙利亚土耳其控制区域和法国（每国超过200人）。

According to Moscow, the peak influx of foreign mercenaries was from March to April of last year, but after the first casualties, the growth rate suddenly decreased.
The number of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine appears to be rapidly declining. Russia’s Ministry of Defense believes that only around 2,000 remain today. It has also claimed that about 5,000 foreign volunteers fled Ukraine after seeing how the authorities treated them.
During interrogations, captured Ukrainian servicemen have reportedly said the commanders of front-line AFU units are not held accountable for losses among mercenaries.
“The Ukrainian command throws units with foreign mercenaries into so-called ‘meat-grinder assaults’ on Russian positions. Wounded mercenaries are the last to be evacuated, only after all Ukrainian servicemen are removed [from the battlefield],” said the Russian Ministry of Defense.

据莫斯科方面称，外国雇佣兵的高峰期出现在去年3月到4月之间，但在第一次伤亡后，增长速度突然减缓。 目前，乌克兰的外国雇佣兵数量似乎在迅速减少。俄罗斯国防部认为，当前大约只剩下约2,000人。该部门还声称，有大约5,000名外国志愿者在看到乌克兰当局对待他们后逃离了乌克兰。 据报道，被俘的乌克兰军人称，前线乌克兰武装部队指挥官对雇佣兵的伤亡不负责任。 俄罗斯国防部表示：“乌克兰指挥机关将带有外国雇佣兵的部队投入到所谓的‘绞肉机式’进攻俄罗斯阵地中。受伤的雇佣兵是最后一个被撤离的，只有在所有乌克兰军人都撤离战场之后才会进行。”

Shortly after the start of Russia’s offensive, President Vladimir Zelensky announced the formation of the International Legion of Territorial Defense in order to attract foreign volunteers to Ukraine. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense claimed that over 20,000 people wanted to join.
In March of this year, however, the New York Times called the data exaggerated.
“Ukrainian officials initially boasted of 20,000 potential Legion volunteers, but far fewer actually enlisted. Currently, there are around 1,500 members in the organization,” the article said.

在俄罗斯发动进攻后不久，乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基宣布组建国际地方防御军团，以吸引外国志愿者来到乌克兰。乌克兰国防部声称有超过2万人希望加入。
然而，今年三月，《纽约时报》声称这个数据夸大了。“乌克兰官员最初夸口有2万名潜在的军团志愿者，但实际上参军的人数要少得多。目前，该组织大约有1,500名成员”，文章中提到。

Citing internal documents, the newspaper noted that the Legion was experiencing problems and that recruitment had “stagnated.” As the Washington-based Counter Extremism Project claimed in March, the Legion and other groups tied to it “continue to feature individuals widely seen as unfit to perform their duties.”
New recruitment regions
Moscow now claims that, due to problems with mobilization in Ukraine and considerable losses, Kiev has begun actively recruiting fighters from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East – particularly, from Argentina, Brazil, Afghanistan, Iraq, and “US-controlled areas of Syria.” Meanwhile, in Poland, the UK, and other European countries, interest in fighting for Ukraine is falling.

该报援引内部文件指出，军团正面临问题，招募工作“停滞不前”。正如总部位于华盛顿的反极端主义项目在三月份所称，军团及其相关组织“继续聚集被普遍认为不适合履行职责的个人”。
新的招募地区 莫斯科现在声称，由于乌克兰的动员存在问题，加之巨大的损失，基辅已开始积极招募来自亚洲、拉美和中东的战士，尤其是来自阿根廷、巴西、阿富汗、伊拉克和“美国控制区的叙利亚”。与此同时，在波兰、英国和其他欧洲国家，为乌克兰而战的兴趣正在下降。

The New York Times article backs up the Russian Defense Ministry’s information regarding the countries which are actively trying to recruit mercenaries to join the fight in Ukraine. It wrote about Ryan Routh, a former construction worker from North Carolina who spent several months in Ukraine last year and is now seeking recruits among Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban. He plans to move them to Ukraine from Pakistan and Iran – in some cases, illegally. Nevertheless, dozens of people have apparently expressed an interest.

《纽约时报》的文章支持俄罗斯国防部就那些积极试图招募雇佣兵参加乌克兰战斗的国家的信息。它报道了来自北卡罗莱纳州的前建筑工人瑞恩·劳思，他去年在乌克兰待了几个月，现在正在寻求那些逃离塔利班的阿富汗士兵加入。他计划将他们从巴基斯坦和伊朗转移到乌克兰，有时是非法的。然而，数十人显然表达了兴趣。

“We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” Routh said in an interview from Washington.
It is unknown whether Routh’s plan worked out. But one former Afghan soldier said that he had been contacted and was interested in fighting if it would allow him to leave Iran, where he has been living illegally.

“我们可能可以通过巴基斯坦购买一些护照，因为那个国家非常腐败，” 瑞恩·劳思在华盛顿的一次采访中表示。
目前还不清楚瑞恩·劳思的计划是否成功。但一名前阿富汗士兵表示，他已经接到联系，并且对参加战斗很感兴趣，因为这可能让他离开伊朗，他目前是非法滞留在那里。

More expenses than earnings
According to the German RTL television channel, foreigners who join the International Legion sign a contract with the Ukrainian army and receive a salary of about €500 ($550) per month – or €3,000 if they serve on the front line.

收支不平衡
据德国RTL电视台报道，加入国际军团的外国人与乌克兰军队签订合同，每月获得约500欧元（550美元）的工资，如果他们在前线服役则为3000欧元。

The channel claims that most French citizens who join the AFU buy their own equipment, since the Ukrainian army cannot provide all of them with gear. One mercenary, who has been in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict and wished to remain anonymous, said that he spent almost €50,000. For example, an assault rifle costs €4,000, but some people go so far as to buy cars to go to the front. Some spend their personal savings, while others announce online fundraising campaigns, RTL reports.

该电视台声称，大部分加入乌克兰自由军的法国公民都购买了自己的装备，因为乌克兰军队无法为所有人提供装备。一名匿名的雇佣兵，从冲突开始就一直在乌克兰，说他花了近50000欧元。例如，一把突击步枪的价格为4000欧元，但有些人甚至买车去前线。有些人动用个人储蓄，而其他人则在网上宣布筹款活动，RTL报道。

Media reports, at the beginning of the conflict, claimed that about 800 French citizens were interested in becoming volunteer fighters, but in reality only about half of them joined the Ukrainian army. Some soldiers stayed in the conflict zone for several days and returned to France – these were nicknamed “TikTok fighters.” Others “left and returned from time to time.” According to RTL, 100 Frenchmen are currently fighting in Ukraine.

媒体报道称，冲突开始时约有800名法国公民表示有兴趣成为志愿战士，但实际上只有其中一半加入了乌克兰军队。一些士兵在冲突区域停留几天后返回法国，他们被戏称为“TikTok战士”。还有些人“时不时地离开和返回”。据RTL报道，目前有100名法国人在乌克兰作战。

Ten minutes to uate candidates
Not everyone who wishes to join the Legion is eligible. According to RTL, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have specific requirements – they want people with prior combat experience or military training, who are familiar with handling weapons.

十分钟评估候选人 并不是所有希望加入军团的人都符合条件。根据RTL的报道，乌克兰武装部队对人员有特定要求，他们希望招募具有前线战斗经验或军事训练的人员，并熟悉武器的操作。

Some candidates even forged details of their biographies to serve in the Legion – which was revealed by several former Legion members to the New York Times. According to them, some people claimed they participated in combat operations and fought for the United States, and some said they had experience in special forces, although this was not true. The Ukrainian side, however, spent no more than ten minutes on uating each candidate.

一些候选人甚至伪造自己的履历以加入军团，这一点被一些前军团成员向《纽约时报》透露。据他们称，一些人声称参与了战斗行动并为美国而战，还有一些声称拥有特种部队经验，尽管这并不是真实的。然而，乌克兰方面每个候选人评估的时间不超过十分钟。

As a result of such poor uation, a Polish citizen who was previously convicted in Ukraine for violating weapon handling rules held a senior position in the Legion for a long time. As soldiers told the Kyiv Independent, during his service in the Legion he stole ammunition, attempted to harass women, and threatened soldiers.

由于评估不严谨，一名之前因违反乌克兰的武器处理规定而被判处有罪的波兰公民长期担任军团的高级职位。据《基辅独立报》报道，他在军团服役期间偷走弹药，还试图骚扰妇女并威胁士兵。

The simple procedure required to join the Legion is also what brought US citizen John McIntyre to Ukraine. He says that joining the Legion was as easy as “walking through the door.” Although he brought documents and certificates of military service to the Ukrainian Embassy in the US, only his passport was checked. All he had to do was sign the contract.

加入军团的简单程序也吸引了美国公民约翰·麦金太尔来到乌克兰。他表示，加入军团就像“走进一扇门”一样简单。尽管他把文件和服役证书带到了乌克兰驻美国大使馆，但只检查了他的护照。他所需要做的就是签署合同。

According to John, he wanted to join the Ukrainian army not because he supported Ukraine but actually because he wanted to support the other side.
“At first I wanted to come and fight on the side of Russia, but I thought, ‘Damn, I'm all alone. I can just suffer from an explosion and die.’ Then I decided that if I visited the other side, I would be able to get more information and help the Russian army more. I talked about it with my friends. They said, ‘No, it's suicide. Don't do it. You'll never succeed.’ But here I am, sitting in your studio and talking to you,” he said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda Radio.

据约翰表示，他之所以想加入乌克兰军队，并非因为他支持乌克兰，实际上是因为他想支持另一方。
他在接受《红色青年真理报电台》采访时表示：“起初我想来支持俄罗斯一方作战，但我想到，‘该死，我一个人会遭遇爆炸然后死去。’然后我决定，如果我加入了另一方，我能够获取更多信息并更好地帮助俄罗斯军队。我和朋友们谈过这个问题。他们说，‘不，那是自杀行为。别这么做。你永远不会成功。’但是现在，我坐在你的工作室里和你交谈。”

According to McIntyre, before the Foreign Legion base in Yavorov was attacked, there were 1,000 mercenaries stationed there. After that, the number dropped to 600. A month later, after the first battle and the subsequent breakup of one of the Legion's platoons because of disagreements with the commander, 300 fighters remained. A week later, this number decreased even further, to just 150 people.

据麦金太尔介绍，在雅沃罗夫的外籍军团基地遭到袭击之前，有1,000名雇佣兵驻扎在那里。之后，人数减少到600人。一个月后，在第一次战斗和由于与指挥官意见不合而导致一个军团小队解散后，只剩下300名战士。一周后，这个数字进一步减少到只剩下150人。

“Those people aren’t dead — they are runaways. Americans, Canadians, and other guys with experience in NATO armies, with excellent equipment – after seeing some Russian bombs, they just ran back home,” McIntyre said.
He also spoke about Ukrainian war crimes, which he witnessed – particularly, how Russian prisoners were executed, how the Ukrainian military disguised themselves as civilians and entered settlements, how they transported weapons in ambulances and hid in the basement of a school while civilians remained on the upper floors.

麦金太尔表示：“那些人不是死了，他们都是逃兵。美国人、加拿大人和其他在北约军队有经验、装备优良的人，看到一些俄罗斯的炸弹后，他们就逃回了自己的国家。”
他还谈到了他目睹的乌克兰战争罪行，特别是俄罗斯战俘被处决的情况，乌克兰军队伪装成平民进入村庄，将武器藏在救护车中并躲在学校地下室，而平民则留在楼上。

“There are dead people everywhere”
The situation at the front horrified a 28-year-old mercenary from Ireland Rhys Byrne, who called the Ukrainian counteroffensive “chaos” in an interview with Sky News.

“无处不是死尸”
一位来自爱尔兰的28岁雇佣兵赖斯·伯恩在接受天空新闻采访时称，前线的情况令他感到震惊，他将乌克兰的反攻形容为“混乱”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


For Byrne, the “last straw” was an encounter with a Russian tank and Russian troops, as a result of which he almost got killed. According to Byrne, their unit’s task was to enter the Russian trenches, clear them, and hold the position until auxiliary units arrived. But what happened was that their unit of 40 people, including Ukrainians, Americans, and Britons, did not have air cover and several Ukrainian tanks even left their positions during the battle.

对于拜恩来说，他的“最后一根稻草”是与俄罗斯坦克和俄军的一次遭遇，结果他几乎丧命。据拜恩说，他们的任务是进入俄罗斯的战壕，清理并保持阵地，直到辅助部队到达。但实际情况是，他们的一个由40人组成的小队，包括乌克兰人、美国人和英国人，在战斗中没有空中支援，甚至有几辆乌克兰坦克离开了阵地。

At one point, they saw another tank and decided that it was one of their own, since it can be difficult to distinguish between Ukrainian and Russian equipment. But the tank fired right at them. Those who survived hid in the forest.
Eventually, they were saved by a Ukrainian pickup truck, but for some time the fighters thought they would die, since the Russian tank continued to pursue them.

在某个时刻，他们看到了另一辆坦克，并认为那是他们自己的坦克，因为乌克兰和俄罗斯的装备很难区分。但那辆坦克却朝他们开火。幸存下来的人躲藏在森林里。
最终，他们被一辆乌克兰皮卡车救了出来，但有一段时间里，战士们以为他们会死，因为俄罗斯坦克继续追击他们。

“Now we have the tank literally coming out, starting to chase us. And that's terrifying when you see a big T-72 coming for you and you're in a Humvee pick-up. Yeah, it's like a hot knife through butter. You're finished. So, again, all of us are screaming, drive the Humvee, drive the Humvee. I was going mental,” he said.

“现在我们真的看到坦克开出来，开始追着我们。当你看到一辆大T-72坦克向你袭来，而你坐在一辆悍马皮卡车上时，那感觉太可怕了。就像热刀切黄油一样。你完蛋了。所以，我们所有人都在尖叫着，开车！开车！我都快发疯了。”他说道。

“The worst day in Afghanistan and Iraq is a great day in Ukraine”
David Bramlette was on his way to earning a master's degree in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University when Russia's offensive in Ukraine started. As he said in an interview with The Daily Beast, just a few days before the offensive, he had been discussing the likelihood of an armed conflict and considered it implausible.
But when the fighting began, David, who had previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan, felt obliged to take part in the conflict.

“阿富汗和伊拉克最糟糕的一天，在乌克兰是美好的一天。”
当俄罗斯对乌克兰发动攻势时，大卫·布拉姆雷特正准备从约翰霍普金斯大学获得国际事务硕士学位。正如他在接受《每日野兽》采访时所说，就在攻势开始的几天前，他还在讨论武装冲突的可能性，认为这是不可思议的。
但当战斗开始时，曾在伊拉克和阿富汗服役的大卫感到有义务参与这场冲突。

Former Marine Troy Offenbecker also decided to go fight in Ukraine. He told The Daily Beast that he made the decision after hearing about “Russian atrocities against Ukrainians.”
“This is my third war I’ve fought in, and this is by far the worst one. You’re getting f***ing smashed with artillery, tanks. Last week I had a plane drop a bomb next to us, like 300 meters away. It’s horrifying sh**,” he said.

前海军陆战队员特洛伊·奥芬贝克也决定去乌克兰参战。他告诉《每日野兽》说，听说“俄罗斯对乌克兰人的暴行”后，他做出了这个决定。
“这是我参加的第三场战争，迄今为止是最糟糕的一场。你要面对来自炮火、坦克的毁灭性打击。上周，我身边的飞机投下了一颗炸弹，离我们大约300米远。这简直太可怕了，”他说。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


He says that when he got to Ukraine, some of his army friends wrote and asked him how to join the Legion. But he ignored their messages for months.
Bramlette agreed and said that the combat missions in Ukraine were exhausting. “The worst day in Afghanistan and Iraq is a great day in Ukraine,” the fighter said.

他说自己到达乌克兰后，一些陆军战友写信问他如何加入“军团”。但他数月来一直忽视了他们的消息。
布拉姆雷特也表示，乌克兰的战斗任务非常艰苦。“阿富汗和伊拉克最糟糕的一天，在乌克兰是美好的一天，”这位战士说道。

Offenbecker remains in the war zone, he is driven by moral considerations. “I look at these children, and I have my own child and niece and nephews. If that were a circumstance for them, I would hope people from all over the world would come and try to help keep them safe and protected as well. That’s what keeps me here,” he said.

Offenbecker仍然留在战区，他受到道义考虑的驱使。他说：“我看着这些孩子，我有自己的孩子、侄子和外甥。如果那是发生在他们身上的情况，我希望来自世界各地的人都会前来帮助保护他们的安全。这就是让我留在这里的原因。”

Bramlette, however, decided otherwise. He said that with the onset of winter, he decided to send members of his small unit back home to get some rest. By that time, it became increasingly difficult to stay out of sight of the Russian troops since the foliage was gone and there was nowhere to hide. In addition, the unit’s vehicles were constantly breaking down and they were running out of money. They feared that without a change of battle tactics, they would fail. “I was just afraid we would go out and do what we normally do and we’d all basically die,” he said.
Bramlette never returned to the front. Reassessing the situation during his winter vacation, he came to the conclusion that he was not ready to go back and continue fighting.

然而，Bramlette做出了不同的决定。他说，在冬季来临时，他决定让他的小队成员回家休息。随着季节的变化，越来越难以躲避俄罗斯部队的视线，因为树叶凋零，无处可藏。此外，他们的车辆经常出故障，资金也所剩无几。他们担心，如果没有改变战术，他们将失败。“我只是担心我们会按照往常的做法出去，结果大家都死掉。”他说。
Bramlette再也没有回到前线。在他的冬季假期里重新评估了局势后，他得出了这样的结论：他不准备回去继续战斗。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Not everyone, however, is lucky enough to leave the war zone. An Australian who fought against Russia on the side of the AFU told ABC radio that foreign soldiers were threatened with imprisonment for trying to leave. Fearing for his own life, he introduced himself as “Bush” (a fictitious military call sign) and said that the incompetence of Ukrainian army commanders endangers the lives of foreign mercenaries.
“My mates have died, and are dying. I've seen things out here that, from a military perspective, are beyond unacceptable and are unfortunately hurting Ukraine,” he said. When asked whether he feared for his safety, he said: “Absolutely, 100 per cent.”

然而，并非每个人都有幸离开战区。一名在乌克兰政府军一方与俄罗斯作战的澳大利亚人在接受ABC广播公司采访时表示，外国士兵试图离开时受到威胁会被囚禁。他出于对自己生命的担忧，自称为“Bush”（一个虚构的军事呼号），并表示乌克兰军队指挥官的无能危及了外国雇佣兵的生命。“我的战友们已经死去，正在死去。我在这里看到的事情，从军事角度来说，完全不可接受，但不幸地危害了乌克兰。”当被问及是否担心自己的安全时，他回答说：“绝对，百分之百担心。”