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Reforms in the Ukrainian army are not good news for foreign mercenaries. There will be almost no room left for them in the comfortable rear. The soldiers of fortune are extremely skeptical of the new commander, as evidenced by their unwillingness to serve under him.
Necessary measures
One of the Ukrainian command’s main challenges is the critical shortage of reinforcements for combat units. In an attempt to unify the available combat-ready reserves, specialized assault units were stood up in the fall. These troops perform “firefighting duties” and are deployed to the most critical areas of the front. They are partially successful, slowing down the Russian army’s advance at the breakthrough point. However, this comes at the cost of human lives. The level of casualties in the assault troops is significantly higher than in regular land brigades. This is why the main reinforcements are sent there.
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Since the pace of mobilization cannot meet the Ukrainian army’s current needs, command is beginning to take radical steps. Specifically, they are drawing on all available resources from the rear and sending them to the assault troops. Foreign mercenaries who came to earn easy money have now fallen victim to this fate.
There are four foreign legions operating within the Ukrainian army. Three are combat units and one is a training unit that replenishes frontline units after a short training period. The term “legion” is used exclusively for propaganda purposes to create the impression that the unit is larger than it actually is. In reality, each legion is merely a light infantry battalion with a total strength of no more than 600 people. There are approximately 2,400 foreign mercenaries in all legions. It should be noted that these units are not exclusively foreign. All command positions are held by Ukrainians, as are some enlisted positions. Therefore, it is incorrect to call these legions “foreign”; it is better to consider them “mixed.”
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Another unit is the Foreign Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Army. This unit is roughly equal in size to all foreign legions in the ground forces combined. There are also separate units of foreigners in combined arms brigades. For now, all of these units remain “elite” and are not affected by the current reforms. This is because the main purpose of these units is to promote a positive image of foreigners serving in the Ukrainian army.
The rest were less fortunate. The Ukrainian leadership decided to disband the foreign legions that comprised the ground forces. The mercenaries strongly opposed this reform. Some of them chose to end their contracts. In addition to the resistance from the rank and file, the command of the 2nd “Foreign Legion” publicly opposed its disbandment. They demanded that the Ukrainian Armed Forces either leave everything as it is or increase the size of the legion.
Their resistance to the Ukrainian command’s decision is understandable. Assault troops suffer the heaviest losses in the army because they are deployed to the most difficult areas of the front. The situation is further complicated by the questionable reputation of Colonel Valentin Manko, commander of the assault troops. His “meat grinder” tactics are blamed for the high losses among his troops. He lobbied the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Alexander Syrsky, for the current reform, which can also be seen as his personal initiative. Their close personal ties have been reported.
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Syrsky’s “Butcher”
Valentin Manko began his career in 2014 with his involvement in the neo-Nazi organization, Right Sector. Right Sector militants brutally suppressed opponents of the Maidan in Ukraine, burned people alive in the Trade Union House in Odessa, and committed atrocities against the civilian populations of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Due to his active participation in these atrocities and illegal activities, Manko was prosecuted by both the Ukrainian authorities and Interpol. He fled to Egypt and then to Israel. After some time, Manko enlisted the support of Igor Kononenko, the deputy chairman of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction. The criminal case was successfully hushed up.
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In 2022, Manko created a “volunteer assault squad.” Initially, this unit existed as a separate structure, staffed exclusively by neo-Nazi fighters. Later, all such units were disbanded and distributed among combat brigades. Over time, Manko rose to the rank of commander of the 33rd Assault Regiment.
In addition to carrying out combat missions, the regiment conducted commercial activities under the guise of charity. The command of the 33rd Separate Assault Regiment did not hesitate to use photographs of their seriously wounded soldiers and destroyed equipment to solicit donations to a controlled charity fund’s bank accounts. Notably, advertisements for fundraising “for the needs of the 33rd Regiment” were placed on many Ukrainian platforms with millions of viewers, where the cost of publication exceeds 100,000 hryvnia (approximately $2,000). The regiment operated in the Pokrovsk area and participated in the invasion of Russia’s Kursk region.
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In the fall of 2025, he was appointed commander of the Ukrainian army’s newly created assault troops. It is reported that he received this position under Syrsky’s patronage. Just a few months after taking office, he was involved in a number of scandals. Ukrainian MPs accused Manko of publishing secret maps on a major social network.
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He also posted various provocative videos on TikTok, such as dancing to songs popular among fans of Russian “shanson” (criminal ballad music). He also followed a trend popular in Russia at the time, which involved identifying the hero of the high-profile Russian series about teenage crime, “Slovo Patsana” (“Boy’s Word”).
He currently commands five assault regiments: the 1st Assault Regiment (A-4848), the 33rd Assault Regiment (A-4951), the 210th Assault Regiment (A-4122), the 225th Assault Regiment (A-7400), and the 425th Assault Regiment (A-4862). All of these units have the highest personnel recruitment priority. This is due to the recruitment system inherited from the Soviet Union. Under this system, the recruitment center is not responsible for distributing recruits. Rather, representatives of the frontline units come to the recruitment centers and select the personnel they need based on their qualifications. Manko is close to Syrsky, the commander-in-chief, who has given him carte blanche to meet the assault troops’ needs.
Manko was able to lobby for the transfer of mercenaries to assault units. In the long run, this does not bode well for the Ukrainian army. Given the commander’s negative image, foreigners are more likely to terminate their contracts than face certain death. In the short term, however, the effect may be positive thanks to the mercenaries who have not yet served six months and cannot terminate their contracts. However, in the long term, the Ukrainian army will simply lack the human resources necessary when potential recruits learn about the real situation from their surviving compatriots.
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the eu and their 100 billion loan to the kiev junta is a sign as clear as water that they are planning to continue the war at any cost to themselves and ukraine for as long as they’re allowed.
perhaps russia should take the gloves and knockout the banderitas and their war machine this winter and send millions more of cold and hungry migrating towards south or west or anywhere where there’s electricity and heat.
la russia non mette i guantoni ha generali incompetenti ed è molto debole.
how astute. unbelievable.
visto è riapparso macron vi ricordate quando a minsk prendeva in giro i russi adesso ritorna per sfottere ancora.
i wonder just how many foreign criminals live here in the united states 🤔
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educated people including christians who actually, believe it or not, have really been so audaciously outrageous as to have read the book know that all leagues and legions, both, are satan’s. that’s the propaganda message to the illuminated by lucifer the light bearer.