“I came to fight, not to commit suicide”

This one’s Spanish ex-paratrooper is an atypical situationbut it shows that in the middle of a war The army’s chain of command doesn’t always work well. Something that could deter other foreign fighters to come and fight for Ukraine if Zelensky’s Defense Ministry does not resolve such problems.

Nacho first came to Ukraine in Summer 2022and served in the Karpatska Sich battalion. When he returned to Spain I couldn’t completely disconnect from what was happening in this warand in 2023 decided to return“I joined the 17th Tank Brigade and worked with them in Bakhmut. I enjoyed it there, but they retreated to regroup with more troops, so I joined the Territorial Defence,” he says.

“I signed the contract in March, and on May 4 we were assigned to Kurajovo (Donetsk) for fight on the front line“, he continues. His platoon consisted of 22 people, The majority of Colombian nationalityalthough there were also three Polish citizens, one Chilean and one Turkish.

When they were given the first mission, Nacho did not participate because He is a drone pilotand the mission did not require their work. But the companions who did go They were wounded a few hours later.

“They were attacked with kamikaze drones as soon as they reached the position, they were wounded and then we discovered that there was no rescue equipment for the wounded. They had to endure five days lying there.with open wounds, until they were taken out,” he still remembers. outraged by the conditions under which they were expected to fight in Donbas.

Nacho and the other companions who were in the rearguard They offered to go on a rescue mission for the wounded.but the commander did not allow it. “The Territorial Defense commanders are not career soldiers, most of them did not even have military experience before the invasion: They are civilians who took up arms to defend their land when Russia attacked.“, clarifies this former Spanish soldier. As a result of the injuries, One of the Colombian soldiers nicknamed Gato diedand the discontent became unsustainable.

Without salary

“We saw that we did not have sufficient tools to be able to enter into combat: not only was there no rescue equipment for the wounded, There were no anti-drone measures either.We had no jammers or shotguns to neutralize them, the trench positions were few and poorly prepared, mere holes totally exposed to the Russian drones. It was going to die, directly, and I came here to fight, not to commit suicide.“, he says.

But that was not the only surprise: in those days they also discovered that the economic conditions were not those they had signed in their contracts.They also tried to trick us with money.“, he says. “According to our contract, the salary was 120,000 hryvnias a month (about 3,000 euros) to fight on the front line, which is normal for all brigades; but in Kurajovo they told us that we They were going to pay only 70,000 hryvnias“.

“As soon as they said about the money, All Colombians responded en masse that they were leavingThey come here to make their money because in their country the salaries are very bad, you have to understand that, and I, sincerely, I can easily earn that salary in Spain.. There is no need to be in a war“, explains Nacho, who before coming to Ukraine worked as a drone pilot in a solar panel company“Although I don’t want to get rich and I’m not here just for the salary, I’m not willing to be fooled either. They can’t put one thing in your contract and tell you another when you get to the front,” he added.

The entire platoon asked to resign at that time, at the end of May, but the 241st Brigade did not approve all the resignations. “Eight of us were left waiting for the paperwork, and it did not arrive; the rest did get it processed, and we still do not understand why not,” he asks.

Involuntary transfer

The eight foreign fighters who were not granted discharge spent several days in Kurajovo, waiting, until their commander told them that they had to sign a paper – written in Ukrainian – to be approved for a salary supplement of 60,000 hryvnias (about 1,500 euros).

“Honestly, I didn’t know what it said… and it turned out that The letter was a transfer to the 204th battalion of the 241st Brigade.“That is, they moved us from Battalion 207 to Battalion 204, but they didn’t give us any discharge or any salary supplement; in fact, I haven’t been paid anything at all since the end of May,” he stressed.

After signing the document, they were put on a bus and taken to the kyiv region, to a military facility of the 204th battalion. However, these facilities turned out to be wooden huts of an abandoned campsite.

“We don’t have drinking water, You have to walk three kilometers to a town to buy bottled water.“The canned food we have is all expired and they don’t pay us our salaries,” he says while showing the place and the conditions in which they are living.

“When we arrived, despite the conditions of the site, we were ready to fight with the new battalion. But we saw that it was more of the same: without resources and with commanders without military experience, so We told them we weren’t going to work with them. and we insisted again that they process our discharge,” he continues.

When they refused to go to the front with the new unit, Brigade 241 issued an arrest warrant against them, even though they were all in that campsite, perfectly located.

“They said we had abandoned a strategic position –Nacho explains–, but we have not abandoned any position because we did not manage to join the front with the 204th battalion.”

“Some of the companions, of Colombian nationality, They decided not to wait any longer at the campsite and went to Poland.They crossed the border and no one stopped them, but I don’t want to leave like that, with my name associated with an abandonment of position and a search and arrest warrant“In fact, I don’t even want to leave Ukraine. What I want is to be discharged and move to a better-prepared Brigade,” he said.

Embassy does not respond

“We have had two meetings with the new commander of Brigade 241, but it does not enter into reason”, he explains. The officer insists that the new Mobilization Law includes a clause that obliges international fighters to serve a minimum of six months before being able to break their contract. However, Nacho and his companions signed their contracts in March, and the Mobilization Law did not come into force until May 18.

Faced with this situation, they went to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to lodge a complaint. They were told that they would receive a reply within fifteen days or a month, but there has been no response to date. They also contacted the Spanish embassy in kyiv, and the response they received read as follows:

“The embassy is not responsible for any possible breach of contract. arising from your relationship with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as this is a matter of private law regulated by Ukrainian regulations. We also remind you that the travel recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is that you should not travel to Ukraine under any circumstances.”

Nacho and his companions who remain with him at the campsite are preparing to travel in a few days to the Zaporizhia front – where the 204th battalion is now – to try to process their papers in person.We have been told that we can make another transfer to Brigade 242 and occupy an artillery position. for the next few months, until they give us the end of our contract, but I don’t know whether to believe them anymore,” he complains.

“I thought I could use my military experience to help people. and Ukraine now needs soldiers, but I notice a change of attitude compared to 2022. Lately, Hispanics are not treated with respect, there are commanders who treat you like hell, although we Spaniards have more military experience than many of them,” reflects out loud this former paratrooper, who has two children aged 18 and 16 in Spain, whom he tells not to worry every time they speak on the phone.

“People who come to Ukraine with the intention of making easy money, to be forgottenIf you come here you have to have the conviction that you want to fight for a cause, not for money, and now it is more difficult than before. Despite everything, I do not want to leave, nor do I want to desert the Army, but I want my rights to be respected“, he says before we say goodbye.