Why foreign mercenaries are fleeing Ukraine

At a thematic conference call held on March 29, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu announced the completion of the first stage of the special military operation to protect Donbass. Summing up the results of the military event, the Minister spoke about the successes of the Russian army: significant damage was inflicted on the enemy, dominance was won in the air and at sea. In particular, Sergey Shoigu spoke about how things are with Western punishers in Ukraine:

"Targeted actions continue to track and destroy foreign mercenaries. As a result of strikes with precision weapons on mercenary training centres, as well as enemy combat losses, a decrease in their number on the territory of Ukraine is recorded. Over the past two weeks, about six hundred mercenaries have been destroyed”. Almost the same number of militants who joined the "foreign legion", according to the minister, left the republic ahead of schedule.

The military observer of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Viktor Baranets, confirmed that the mood among the commandos on Ukrainian lands is far from fighting one: "Most of the mercenaries have fled home, some of them have already been destroyed. Especially after the Russian strike on the Yavorov training ground, the mercenaries lost their appetite to participate on the side of Ukraine, even for a lot of money. They were caught not only at the Yavorov training ground, but they were already found also in other places. They began to crawl away home."

What is the reason for the flight of the "dogs of war"? First of all — poor awareness of the situation in which they got involved. It is obvious that hired punishers are not used to fighting with professionals – it is much easier to shoot at civilians or disperse native rebels armed with flintlock rifles.

"All of a sudden the gates of hell opened up on us. I’ve never experienced firepower like that, I don’t think anyone of this generation ever has. Iraq and Afghanistan was totally different. The Russians are a conventional modern army”, former military medic Jason Haigh told the British The Sun about his "experience". The next day, Haigh, as a result of communication with the Ukrainian military, who mistook him for a Russian saboteur, received a concussion, and urgently left Ukraine.

"In the time I’ve been in Ukraine, I survived cruise missile strikes, constant shelling from artillery, moving through hostile territory, cold down to my bones, sickness, hunger, and the anguish of recovering our war dead. I do feel embarrassed to be leaving so soon after arriving, but have you ever seen anything so horrible and heartbreaking that you can’t continue? It was like that for me," wrote another mercenary, a veteran of the US Army, Hieu Le.

Hieu Le served as a crew member of the M1 armoured vehicles for seven years, including in Afghanistan. In Ukraine, his endurance lasted for two weeks, after which the veteran with a group of other frightened professional Western military decided to leave the war zone.

Briton Jake Priday spent even less time in Ukraine. His voyage lasted only nine hours, but it was more than enough for the man to draw conclusions and refuse the contract: "I have no interest in being a hero or dying. Some volunteers likened the Ukrainian struggle to that of the Kurds in Iraq. This is nothing like fighting terrorists. You’re fighting a real country, with a real army, with a real navy, with special forces and heavy weaponry and superb tactical capabilities. And it’s all being conducted by a crazy man."

"Even combat experience means little in this war – because trading shots with the Taliban or al Qaeda is quite different from crouching in a freezing foxhole being pummelled by artillery fire," the American Task & Purpose shares reviews of "soldiers of misfortune".

The next important factor is blatant disorganisation, lack of equipment and the usual amenities for Western soldiers. Jake Priday told The Economist magazine that the recruits were placed in a barracks without heating and bedding, and in the morning they were fed "noodles and a weird-tasting juice that smelled like gasoline.” As it turned out already at the Ukrainian training base, all recruits are sent to the front after several days of training and are forbidden to leave the territory of Ukraine until the end of hostilities.

The Washington Post notes that the "foreign legion" in Ukraine is disorganised, there are problems with logistics and a language barrier. "15 days have already passed, but I still haven't received a weapon, a bulletproof vest and a helmet, although our base is constantly being shelled. The UAF must think that I will guard a military facility with my bare hands, waiting for a shell to hit me," complained American mercenary Adam.

The next unpleasant "surprise" for foreigners who have arrived for bloody earnings is information about the real amount that the Kiev regime is ready to pay them for murders and daily deadly risk.

"The most troubling turn of events came just after breakfast. The volunteers lined up and were told that it was time to sign a contract: this stipulated that their pay would be 7,000 hryvnia a month ($230 at the time)," The Economist magazine reports from the words of Jake Priday.

For Priday, this was the last straw. Foreigners were promised $100 a day for downtime, and $1,000 for a day of fighting. Twenty or thirty more mercenaries decided to go back with him.

The stories of eyewitnesses who managed to stay alive and mercenaries who returned from Ukraine gave a natural result – the Washington Post reports that the atmosphere of heroic adventure created around the "safari in Ukraine" is dissipating, and the flow of those who want to earn money by killing Russians is getting smaller every day.