16,000 foreign volunteers serve in the Ukrainian military: What challenges they face

About 16,000 foreign volunteers serve in the Ukrainian Defence Forces, the Military Ombudsman’s Office reported. Among the challenges they face are the need for translation into their native language and a lack of regulation regarding the search for relatives and payouts in the event of their death.

Centre for the Recruitment of Foreigners and Stateless Persons. Photo credit: Military Ombudsman’s Office of Ukraine

Of the 16,000 foreign volunteers, almost 40% are citizens of Latin American countries. The Military Ombudsman’s Office conducted a comprehensive study of the path of a foreign volunteer in the Ukrainian Defence Forces. Based on these findings, the institution sent proposals to the President’s Office and the Defence Ministry of Ukraine on how to improve legislation to ensure proper service conditions for these military personnel.

The Military Ombudsman’s Office of Ukraine outlined the main problematic issues. In particular, foreigners join the Defence Forces through various channels – via recruitment centres, territorial recruitment and social support centres, and military units. Since there is no unified register of foreign military personnel in Ukraine, it is difficult to obtain information about them promptly and verify its accuracy.

“An adequate translation into their native language must be provided throughout the entire path of a foreign volunteer – from documents to reports and communication with the command,” the Military Ombudsman’s Office noted.

Military units do not always enter information about relatives and current contacts into the personal files of foreign military personnel. This complicates the search for and notification of relatives if a volunteer is killed or goes missing. It is also necessary to regulate the procedure by which foreign volunteers sign personal directives – in particular, which relatives will have the right to receive payouts.

To counter dishonest recruiting, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry plans to create an official list of companies that can cooperate with the Defence Forces to accompany foreign volunteers. According to Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetylova, Ukraine, unlike Russia, does not support “predatory” recruitment.

“We have a civilised state, and we pay maximum attention to the observance of human rights. Of course, there are some violations. But there is the Military Ombudsman’s Office, the Defence Ministry, the Coordination Headquarters – all of us, as well as every brigade and every commander, feel a responsibility to observe the rights of military personnel and try to solve problems if they exist,” the military ombudsman stressed.

The Military Ombudsman’s Office said that a working group on the protection of the rights of military personnel who are foreigners and stateless persons, headed by Deputy Minister Liubov Halan, is starting work under the Defence Ministry. It will bring together representatives of various departments to determine the military units that recruit foreign volunteers and to develop solutions. The institution will join this work.

In 2025, Reshetylova received about 12,000 complaints. Since 27 January, when the Military Ombudsman’s Office began its work, almost another 5,500 have been received. The appeals include problems with command and the right to payouts.

ZMINA previously also reported that the Military Ombudsman’s Office launched a contact centre for military personnel’s appeals regarding violations of their rights during service. Calls are accepted by calling 1510.

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