After almost three years of large -scale invasion, Ukrainian forces seek to recruit among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men living in Europe.
They are nearly 700 Ukrainians living in Europe to have registered to join the Ukrainian Legion, a new army formation supposed soon to be deployed against Russian troops on the front. Among them, Oleg, a mechanical engineering student at the prestigious Trinity University. The young man is only 22 years old, was born in the west of theUkrainebut he lived all his life in Ireland. And yet, he intends to get involved as a volunteer. “” Everyone begs me not to leave. And I too are worried about my safety. But I want to contribute to the defense of Ukraine. If that involves joining the infantry, I will do it, I think I would be more useful if I could help on the side of the technological war, in the use of drones for example. Fighting in the infantry is terrifying He says.
Tattoo of the trident, symbolic of Ukrainian independence, on the forearm, Oleg recognizes it: it has no military experience. To join the Ukrainian Legion, the first question asked all volunteers when registering online concerns their experience in the army or the police. If the answer is no, the process is interrupted. But now, candidates can reconnect immediately and simply change their yes.
But whatever its experience, according to Oleg, Ukraine more than ever needs all the possible support. “” I would really like us to be able to win this war without my participation, but I believe that if we had to lose this war and our state, and that I did not do anything to contribute to the effort, I do not know if I could forgive meConfess the young man. I really don’t want to die! But it’s complicated. I feel this moral imperative to help mine and do everything I can so that my father comes home, safe, and for my friends and loved ones. His father left to fight against the Russian troops in 2022. This is one of the reasons that pushed Oleg to want to get involved in turn.
According to Larysa Gerasko, Ukraine ambassador to Ireland, it is impossible to know the exact number of Ukrainian men in Ireland who have registered in the Legion. But the ambassador confirms it to us, those who fled the war recently are not the only ones to commit. “” Some Ukrainians who have lived here for 20 years, 15 years, before the large -scale invasion of Ukraine, joined the military forces and are fighting today! Because they are Ukrainian and our country, our homeland, is attacked. We would be happy to live in peace again, but we will never give up, we will not capitulate She exclaims. In recent months, Donald Trump Had to be able to impose peace in Ukraine in one day. But his plan would be to give in the Crimea and the Donbass region to the Russiain exchange for a ceasefire between kyiv and Moscow.
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