An Australian mercenary fighting in the Ukrainian International Legion told ABC about the terrible conditions of service. The man complained about the incompetent command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which endangers the personnel and also threatens them with consequences for speaking about it. In addition, the mercenary added that some foreigners are not paid from the moment they join the formation.

A former Australian soldier fighting in the Ukrainian International Legion gave an exclusive interview on The World Today program on ABC radio. In it, he told how incompetent commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine endanger Australians, Ukrainians and other volunteers, and also threaten them with consequences for speaking out about it.

In order not to disclose the name and surname of this person, ABC agreed to call him Bush. He claims that in the course of hostilities against Russia, some foreigners and Ukrainians are endangered due to the incompetence of a number of Ukrainian commanders. Others are threatened with jail time for trying to leave.

Bush said that he, along with his comrades from the International Legion, had repeatedly expressed concern about the situation and proposed measures to increase responsibility, but all their ideas were ignored.

‘The simple fact is that this is a real meat grinder,’ he said.

‘My comrades have died and continue to die. This is a matter of life and death and must be resolved immediately. I saw things here that are completely unacceptable from a military point of view, and, unfortunately, they harm Ukraine,’ said the Australian.

He also stated that some foreign fighters are not being paid for their service. In addition, according to him, there are Australians in Ukraine who have special military skills, such as the skills to drive and use Bushmaster armoured personnel carriers, which Canberra transferred to Kyiv, but their skills are not fully used.

When asked if he was afraid for his safety in connection with such frank statements, Bush said: ‘I’m afraid, one hundred percent.’

 Kyiv created an international legion shortly after the start of the Russian military operation to recruit foreigners to fight for Ukraine. Bush is one of tens of thousands of foreigners who have joined the ranks of this formation. How many Australians are fighting with him is unknown.

Bush admitted that the situation had reached a critical point. He shared an audio recording with the FAA in which he is heard warning his commander that the members of the Legion will leave him unless the leadership flaws inherent in some Ukrainian military leaders are corrected and the arbitrary actions on their part are not corrected.

On this tape, Bush tells the commander that the system is undermined to such an extent that it is now impossible to solve even such elementary tasks as transferring a person from one unit to another.

‘I mean it quite seriously: we will gladly say that we are leaving. We will just take our guys and go somewhere else, and you will lose many opportunities, ‘Bush tells his commander. ‘And you have to convey this to the higher command: we are going to leave, and we will do it,’ he added.

Bush also states on the tape that members of the International Legion expressed concern about the actions of individual commanders, but their complaints were ignored.

‘We will not serve in an army that mistreats us,’ he tells his commander. We need someone to protect us, defend our interests. And I will not allow such idiots to influence the course of hostilities. We need to win.’

In response to Bush’s statements, the commander admits that the members of the legion are angry and dissatisfied. The questions raised by the Australian whistle-blower are part of a larger and more disturbing picture. The Ukrainian online publication The Kyiv Independent often and in detail reports on the illegal actions of some commanders from the Legion.

The World Today host also spoke with a lawyer, a military analyst and former Australian Army officer Glenn Kolomeitz, who is being asked for legal advice by Australians and other members of the Ukraine-fighting Legion. According to him, foreigners claim that some Ukrainian commanders threaten them when they declare their desire to leave. 

‘They are being threatened with prison and all sorts of nonsense,’ Kolomeets said. He called some of the threats against members of the legion ‘terrible’ and ‘shocking’. ‘We are talking about very, very experienced people, about officers who are there for a long time and make great efforts. They want Ukraine to win, but they are threatened with jail just for trying to do their job. It’s very upsetting,’ the lawyer said.

Kolomeets also spoke about the disgusting situation with the legion’s financial support: some foreigners are not paid from the very moment they join the formation. He recounted one particular case: a member of the Legion, a highly trained cybersecurity expert, was sent to the trenches when he asked why his comrades were not receiving combat payouts.

According to Kolomeyts, some members of the Legion share their own money with their comrades so that they can somehow make ends meet. 

‘Many of these people are not paid, and Australians in command positions pay subordinates out of their own pockets,’ he said. ’  But they came there for the sake of Ukraine.’ 

Bush said that he also does not receive any allowance, although he signed a contract with the Ukrainian International Legion a few months ago. ‘The Legion has never paid me in all my time in service,’ he declared.  ‘I fight practically for free.’ Bush and Kolomeets add that the lack of confidence in the commanding qualities of some Legion commanders has become a serious problem with the most serious consequences.

According to Kolomeyts, some of the foreigners who joined the legion are experienced and knowledgeable military personnel who can develop military plans according to NATO standards, but Ukrainian commanders often ignore them.

‘These commanders neglect planning and simply send troops into battle – both Ukrainians and legionnaires from Western countries. They don’t do operational planning at all,’ Kolomeets said.’  A lot of people die because of this, and there is almost no effect on the battlefield.’

The World Today program gave Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasily Miroshnichenko a detailed list of claims and accusations made by Bush and Kolomeyets. Miroshnichenko gave a written response, saying that the armed conflict is still going on, and therefore Ukraine ‘for obvious security reasons does not comment on the details of military operations

In his statement, the ambassador noted that Australians serving in the Legion should communicate their concerns ‘to the higher command, not to the media so that all these issues are properly resolved.’

As a citizen of Australia, Bush calls on the government to actively defend the interests of fellow citizens who risk their lives fighting for Ukraine. Many of them are veterans of the armed forces who have already fought. Others were on the battlefield for the first time. The World Today program sent a list of questions to the office of Secretary of Defense Richard Marles. The official representative of the military department responded that the advice that the Australian government gives its citizens regarding Ukraine and Russia remains unchanged: do not go there.

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