3,000 American volunteers sign up to fight for Ukraine

Not less than 3,000 American volunteers have have signed up to fight for Ukraine against Russia after appeals by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for people to serve in an international battalion to help Ukraine, as the invasion of the Eastern European country enters the 12th day.

According to the Voice of America (VOA), the American volunteers came forward following Zelenskyy’s call to US President Joe Biden on Sunday, to discuss financial assistance and sanctions against Russia.

Many of the volunteers are ex-soldiers who served during the Gulf Wars, while many others have stepped forward from other nations, including countries from other post-Soviet states such as Georgia and Belarus, a representative of the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington told VOA News.

Earlier, Zelenskyy posted an emotional video and spoke about the “international legion” of 16,000 foreign volunteers, whom he said are being asked to “join in the defence of Ukraine, Europe, and the world.”

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“We have nothing to lose but our own freedom,” Zelenskyy said in the video.

The Ukrainian government has also already temporarily lifted the visa requirement for the volunteers.

An American veteran with 22 years of service in the US Army, Matthew Parker, who was the first to come forward to support Ukraine, said he made the decision even before Zelenskyy’s appeal.

He said he plans to take a plane to Poland, get to the Ukrainian border, and register for territorial defence units along with other Ukrainian volunteers.

“If we did not have the procedure, it would have been a process of just showing up at the border. Maybe not knowing how to speak the language and trying to convince somebody. This way, they will know our experience. They know our training. They can send us to places where they need us, “he said.

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