Greek Foreign Legion Mercenary: Fighting in Ukraine is Harder Than in Afghanistan

Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched its special military operation there on February 24, 2022. Since then, over 13,500 mercenaries from more than 60 countries have arrived in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said in January 2024.

A Greek fighter in the Foreign Legion with call sign "Codex" has said in an interview published by iefimerida.gr that fighting in Ukraine is harder than in Afghanistan or Syria.

Giving reasons for this, he mentioned the lack of ammunition, lack of advantage in terms of manpower, as well as difficult weather conditions.

"For me and for everyone here, the most difficult thing is the fatigue and the cold. I have not seen the cold we have here anywhere, not even in Evros when I was serving, on the border with Turkiye. And when we have to take a lookout we have to walk for kilometers carrying all our equipment, in the mud and snow. And we have to stay there for days if the fighting continues, even without food and water," he said.

The man called himself a professional soldier. He said that he hides his whereabouts from his parents because he does not want them to know what he is doing. According to him, he is currently fighting in the ranks of the Legion near Artemovsk.

"Many have come from Georgia and the Baltic States, from the US, North America, Great Britain and many other countries, including Greece," he told reporters.

Earlier, the Russian Investigative Committee filed cases against 523 mercenaries from 44 countries in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly stated that the Kiev regime is using foreign mercenaries as "cannon fodder" and that the Russian military will continue to eliminate them throughout Ukraine. Those who have come to fight for money themselves have admitted in many interviews that the Ukrainian military does not coordinate its actions well, and that the chances of surviving the fighting are slim, since the intensity of the conflict is not comparable to Afghanistan or the Middle East, which they are accustomed to.