In perfect Spanish, Sergeant Schnitzel (his nickname) talks about the motivation that drives them to fight in a country that is not their own, but with which they are aligned in their struggle. "We are not only defending Ukraine, but also the free world," he says convincingly. That motivation, and not the little money they earn for it, serves for dozens of the world's best soldiers, with experience in Iraq or Afghanistan, to continue fighting here for three years. Many are former US Marines or British army soldiers who came to fight for a few months. Some of them fell in love and have put down roots here, are already married or engaged, and are expecting children. "That is the difference between a volunteer and a mercenary. The mercenary only comes to earn money, and they are much more," says a Ukrainian volunteer who works side by side with foreigners.
The location where this unit trains is secret, as are their real names and, in many cases, even their faces. On their shoulders, patches from not only the US and the Union Jack are visible, the most numerous; there are also several volunteers from Malaysia, a Japanese, a French, and even a man from Azerbaijan. We are in front of a company of the newly created International Battalion of the Azov brigade of Ukraine, an elite unit that integrates the best foreign military personnel that Kiev has been able to find among all its units or has been able to attract from abroad. The screening is severe. Only a few manage to access, and the salary is the same as that of a Ukrainian infantry soldier. Those who fight here do not do it for money.
Their uniforms, faded from use, still have dry mud in some areas. Unlike Ukrainian units, they have incorporated their own US patches: "Semper fidelis," says one, the old Marine motto. And another: "Jesus is King."
Russian propaganda has been talking for years about the "soldiers sent by NATO to Ukraine." Unlike Pyongyang, which does order its troops to fight in this war, none of the Alliance partners has sent a single soldier to Ukraine. What there are, are volunteers, and here we have quite a few.
No one here trusts in reaching any ceasefire agreement with Vladimir Putin. "In any case, that is a matter for politicians. We are soldiers and have to think about continuing to fight. Of course, I would like them to sign it and respect it. I do not enjoy shooting and killing. I prefer to be in Kyiv with my girlfriend watching my child being born," says Uno, a former Marine with experience in Afghanistan who is now a sergeant here. His support, Uno, comes from his only physical weakness: he only sees through one of his two eyes.
- Do you feel disappointed by Donald Trump's stance on Ukraine? - I am a soldier. I do not understand politics, but it is true that I do not understand what Trump is doing. We have a common enemy, and it has always been Putin's Russia.
They are welcoming. In no time, they already treat us as one of them. The exercise they have to repeat several times is to shoot with an M249 machine gun, move with it, and reload it over and over again to gain skill. They let us lift it and hold it in a firing position. Within seconds, the arms begin to feel the fatigue from the weight. They also carry a gear of about 30 kilograms, including a vest, at least nine full magazines, a first aid kit with five tourniquets...
Most have already used these weapons, but after three months of training (no Ukrainian unit selects their personnel as rigorously), they have incorporated several inexperienced rookies who have more difficulty loading the belt of bullets and making it work afterward. "If this happens to you in combat, you're dead," says Red, a Welsh first sergeant already adapted to Ukraine with a Cossack mustache. The level of adaptation to Ukraine is marked by the use of insults: Suka (b**ch) and blyat (f**k) are used here just like Ukrainian soldiers do.
"I have been fighting here for so long that I already consider myself more Ukrainian than British. I have been in Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Andrivka, Kursk... My weapon and I have been in all the major battles," Red recounts. His weapon, specifically, is a NATO caliber M4 rifle whose peculiarity is that it is not manufactured in Texas but in Ukraine. This foreign battalion of Brigade 12 is the first in their entire army to switch from the eternal Kalashnikov to a Western weapon. The volunteers fire belts of bullets and move quickly to the next position under the watchful eye of the instructors. If we didn't have ear protection, the gun's rattling would leave us deaf.
We take advantage of every break to talk to them while they sit or lie down with their eyes closed trying to rest from exhausting training. Despite the noise, some fall asleep.
A quadcopter drone flies over the group, giving the scene the real sound of combat, with the device buzzing over their heads. "We usually carry out our assaults in broad daylight because it levels the playing field," says Uno. "At night, night vision drones see you, but you don't see them. At least during the day, we can see them and shoot them down, even though it's not easy."
- After having fought them face to face so many times, what is your opinion of the Russian soldier?
- There are several types. Those taken from prisons let themselves be killed very quickly, and their own army accepts it as normal. Then there are the simple recruits, who have little training and do not survive for long. But then the elite units, like the paratroopers and the Spetsnaz, have very well-prepared people, they are quality soldiers. We can tell right away if they are one type or the other. Experienced soldiers shoot and move, they do not stay in the same place. If we see that they do not maneuver to surround us, they are novices. In any case, I always have great respect for my enemies.
The discourse of respect is repeated by Uno, regardless of whether the enemy respects them. "On social media, the image of the Russian soldier is portrayed as a stupid orc. That is false. I am not talking about the reasons that brought them here, but on the battlefield, they are tough, and their training, in general terms, is not bad."
Red reveals some issues about their resistance to captivity. "We had several Russians surrounded in a trench, with no possibility of escape. We asked them to come out with their hands up, or we would throw a grenade at them. When they didn't come out, we started throwing a grenade at the shelter each time... Many prefer to die like that, some even blow themselves up inside before surrendering."
The training pauses for lunch. Inside a destroyed building, the soldiers serve themselves a meal from an old Soviet pot consisting of soup with potatoes and meatballs that would be approved by Ferran Adrià in that context. Sitting at a rough table with camping chairs, they all leave their weapons on the wall and devour the plate hungrily amid dark jokes and black humor. "Luckily, I have never been seriously injured," says Uno, who wears four bracelets on his right wrist with the names of "four fallen Marine brothers, three in Ukraine and one in Afghanistan" engraved. Luck has also spared Red, but just in case the tide turns, both practice quickly carrying the other, to evacuate them on their shoulders no matter the weight. They have all had to lift and walk with Marcos on top, a huge former US Marine who weighs well over 100 kilos plus the heavy protective gear of both.
During the meal, conversations about past missions arise: Crimea, Kursk, Bryansk. Some of them have been publicized by Ukrainian intelligence services, and others are less known. "When we entered Bryansk (Russia), for example, we surprised them and took 16 prisoners," Uno recounts.
It is evident that they are preparing for something, but the orders are about to arrive. In that unit, no one considers a ceasefire, a feeling similar to that of the civilians in Ukraine. No one trusts Putin at this point, but neither Trump.