In the fight against the Russian invaders, Ukraine also uses foreign fighters. Now several International Legion volunteers are addressing the media. They accuse several commanders of misconduct.
According to a media report, volunteer fighters in Ukraine complain about abuses within the International Legion. The online newspaper “Kyiv Independent” has received several statements from members of the association that strongly criticize the behavior of some commanders. It’s about abuse of power, suicide missions, sexual harassment and looting.
“We came here to help these people, to fight for this country, against this invasion,” the media quoted a volunteer from Brazil as saying. “We didn’t come here to do exactly what damn Russians do when they’re on Ukrainian soil.” For these reasons, he and some members of his unit left the Legion.
A fighter from the USA describes a mission in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv to the “Kyiv Independent”. When he and his comrades came under Russian fire, neighboring units retreated. His troops had to continue to hold the front line alone. “We were literally left behind and they didn’t want to evacuate us,” said the American. The consequence: a soldier was killed and three men were seriously injured.
After the group escaped Russian fire, another group from the same unit was ordered to return to positions. “We told the commander that these positions had been discovered by the Russians,” says the legionnaire. But the protest was in vain. In the end, four more people died and several were injured. In addition, a soldier was taken prisoner by the Russians.
In addition to interviews, “Kyiv Independent” also refers to a 78-page report that legionnaires compiled about the problems within the troops. Despite notifying the authorities, nothing happened, which is why the fighters have now turned to the media. According to the research, it is about the wing of the International Legion, which is controlled by the Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR. Accordingly, three men in particular are the focus of criticism. They are Major Vadim Popik, who heads the Legion’s wing, intelligence officer Taras Vashuk and his uncle Sasha Kuchynsky, also an intelligence officer.
A particularly large number of complaints are directed against Kutschynski. He is said to be a heavy drinker who abused and exploited subordinates and sexually harassed paramedics. He is said to have taken some of the ammunition from soldiers, presumably to sell it. He is said to have threatened a legionnaire who refused to hand over parts of his equipment with a weapon.
Other volunteers describe an incident near the city of Lysychansk in the Donbass. Kuchynsky ordered them to go to a shopping center and take goods from the stores: shoes, women’s clothing, jewelry and electronics. “The locals saw us loading the furniture, which made me very uncomfortable. It felt like we were robbing them. That’s not why I came to Ukraine,” says a soldier from Colombia. “Kyiv Independent” also has a video of this incident, which is supposed to show a discussion between Kuchynsky and his subordinates, who question the legality of his orders.
There was not much resistance to Kutschynski. When there were problems, he always turned to Taras Vashuk, who took him under his protection, says a volunteer from Scandinavia. Even when paramedics were harassed by Kutschynski with sexually suggestive expressions, there were no consequences.
According to “Kyiv Independent”, Sascha Kutschynski also uses a false identity. Accordingly, he is the Pole Piotr Kapuscinski, a former member of a criminal organization. He is said to have had several conflicts with the law in his home country, and fled to Ukraine in 2014. Here, too, he is said to have committed a crime. He spent a year in prison in 2016 for aggravated robbery and sexual assault. Because of the outbreak of war, ongoing proceedings against him had been suspended.
Kutschynski did not want to comment on the allegations against “Kyiv Independent”. The GUR news service, which is responsible for the unit, also refused to comment on the newspaper. The Ukrainian Presidential Office confirmed to the newspaper that it had received the complaints. These were forwarded to the law enforcement authorities. According to the legionnaires, the investigators should have had several ads for a long time.