McGee’s first war

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO

Three foreign legions, Damien McGrou (left), Gelena McGee (center), and M Jay (right), are in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday (13/6/2022). These foreign legions helped Ukraine in the war against Russia.

The death sentences handed down to two British citizens and a Moroccan citizen show that there are foreign nationals among Ukrainian troops. While some had wartime experience or military backgrounds, others were ordinary civilians before the Ukraine-Russian war broke out.

Ukraine does not deny that there are foreign nationals among their troops. Their unit is officially called the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. They receive salaries, life insurance as well as combat equipment.

Several members of the legion said each member would receive US$400,000 if they were killed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced the formation of the legion on 6 March 2022. Kuleba said at the time that at least 20,000 people from 52 countries, including the United States, Canada, England and Morocco, had signed up to join the legion.

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The legion’s spokesman, Damien Magrou, confirmed that the foreign fighters were part of the Ukraine’s armed forces and were funded by the Defense Ministry.

“Cost of living, weapons, ammunition and salary [are covered]. There are also donations from individual donors, especially from Western countries,” a Norwegian fighter said on Monday (13/6/2022) in Kyiv.

Soldiers and other personnel of Ukraine’s defense force also have similar cards that are used for daily transactions in various parts of the country.

Gelenna McGee, a US citizen who has joined the legion, said she was receiving a salary that was sent to her account at a Ukrainian bank. She also had a purple debit card. Soldiers and other personnel of Ukraine’s defense force also have similar cards that are used for daily transactions in various parts of the country.

“I was actually looking for some burgers like those back home. I went to 20 different places and still can’t find one,” McGee laughed.

First war

McGee arrived in Kyiv from Kharkiv last week on two-week leave. While in Kharkiv, she joined a team of paramedics. “It is actually my first time on the battlefield,” she said.

She is a member of the US Navy to December 2022. Throughout her four years of service, she spent time either at military bases or on warships. She is a special combat medic with the US Navy, as well as in Ukraine.

“From the ambulance window, I’ve often seen missiles and artillery [shells] flying. Some exploded only a few dozen meters from the ambulance we were in. I don’t know how my partner can drive the ambulance in such conditions. He’s very skilled,” she said.

While in Kharkiv, McGee wasn’t sure whether or not to heed the attack warnings. More often than not, she heard the whistling of missiles or rockets, followed by explosions. “It can occur several times a day. [We need to] move quickly between explosions,” she added.

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO

Gelena McGee, one of the foreign legions in the Ukraine war at the Ukrinform Building, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday (13/6/2022). Gelena is one of the foreign legions from the United States who helped Ukraine in the battle against Russia as a special war medic.

As part of the combat medical unit, McGee and her colleagues are tasked with evacuating victims from the site of an attack. Both civilians and soldiers must be taken immediately to a nearby clinic or hospital. “I can sort of understand why the military would be targeted. But I don’t understand why civilians and children are also being targeted,” she said.

Even though she has been in the US Navy for four years, McGee had no combat experience before Ukraine. This is why she is still shocked on seeing civilians who have been injured by shrapnel from missiles, mortars and rockets.

On the battlefield, she does not have time to think about her feelings. She must focus on taking victims to the nearest clinic or hospital, and as quickly as possible. “There is blood and screaming everywhere. The worst is when we have to help children,” she said.

For her peace of mind, McGee also gets time off. In early June 2022, she took leave in Kyiv and stayed for three weeks. She was one of the first groups to join the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. “I arrived here in early March. It doesn’t feel like it, but I’ve been here for a few months now,” she said.

Zero experience

While McGee has a military background, Norwegian Magrou had none. Until 2021, he was a lawyer at a corporate law firm. He was the law firm’s chief representative in Brussels, Belgium. He mainly dealt with contracts and antitrust litigation in line with European Union laws with other laws in northern and eastern Europe.

When the war broke out, he decided to get involved. “I joined at a time when there were not many foreign legionnaires,” he said. Despite earning a salary from Kyiv, he stressed that he and the thousands of other foreign fighters in the legion were not mercenaries.

They had joined units in the Ukrainian army. Since he was a lawyer, he admitted that he had examined all the legal aspects before expressing his views on his status and that of thousands of other colleagues.

In early June 2022, a court formed by the DPR sentenced the three to death, deeming that they were mercenaries and could not be treated as prisoners of war.

Their military status was important, particularly as regards the death sentences handed down to Britons Aiden Aslin (28) and Shaun Pinner (48) and Moroccan Brahim Saadune. In April 2022, the three were part of the Ukrainian army that had surrendered to Russian troops and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) militia in Mariupol. In early June 2022, a court formed by the DPR sentenced the three to death, deeming that they were mercenaries and could not be treated as prisoners of war.

From the outset, Russia emphasized that it would only grant prisoner-of-war status to Ukrainian soldiers and not to foreign militias or legions.

KOMPAS/KRIS MADA

Photos and names of foreign militias in the Ukraine war are posted in the corner of Maidan Plaza, Kyiv, Sunday (12/6/2022). Among the foreign militia were Britons named Shaun Pinner and Andrew Hill. There is also a Moroccan named Braim Saadune. They were captured by Ukrainian separatist militias in Donetsk a few months ago. Last week, they were sentenced to death by a separatist tribunal in Donetsk.

Moscow took advantage of the definition that the US, its allies and other countries used to describe the people who joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). According to the US and its allies, all foreign ISIS members were not soldiers and so could not be treated as prisoners of war.

The US, and now Russia, argue that an army can only be formed by a sovereign state whose sovereignty is recognized by other countries. Soldiers must also have formal identities and follow the rules of war. Meanwhile, members of armed groups formed by nongovernmental parties are referred to as militias.

According to American security consulting agency the Soufan Center, there are also mercenaries. These people are paid to fight by a state, although taxpayers are not the ones funding them, and are not part of a regular army.

This is what the US used to describe Wagner, a Russian security company. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian citizen, is currently said to own Wagner, which is alleged of sending mercenaries to fight in Syria, Libya and Iraq.

(This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia)