Ukrainian authorities have banned men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. In early March, 35 people contacted the Ukrainian Embassy in Bern to join the international legion, according to Radio Tlvision Suisse. Nigeria bars its citizens from enlisting in the International Legion. [37], On August 15, 2022, three captured British citizens, two International Legion volunteers and an aid worker, pleaded not guilty to charges of fighting as mercenaries in a court in the Donetsk People's Republic. [91], Some Slovakian citizens have indicated they want to go fight in the International Legion, according to Minister of Defense Jaroslav Na. [191], On 16 March, CNN Turkey reported that three Japanese nationals with military experience were allowed to enter Ukraine. [74], However, only one 21-year-old Indian student in Kharkiv is known to have joined the Georgian National Legion in 2022. Should anyone go fight on the Russian side, she added, then that is a punishable offense. [178], The Ukrainian Embassy focused on recruiting Israelis through its Facebook page. [179], By early March, it was reported that Israelis had been recruited and were heading to Ukraine. [93], On 11 March 2022, Ukraine's ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, announced she is waiting on a legal ruling from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on whether or not Ukraine may actively recruit South Africans to join the International Legion. [238] The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is in the process of adding his name to a no-fly list. The units and their respective nationalities have been reported as being part of the International Legion: A Special Forces wing, known as the Legionnaires Special Service Group (LSSG), is made of foreign fighters and was initiated by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's intelligence directorate (GUR). [29] The necessary probation period is the duration of the war. [119] One of the two was a 27-year old Belgian Ukrainian called Artem Dymyd from Charleroi who had enlisted in the Ukrainian Army in 2014 and who was killed by rocket fire in Donetsk. If you wish to join them you can contact Ukrainian embassies and tell them you want to fight. Adverts have seemingly . How to join the International Battalion. [59] The first contingent of seven volunteers left Belgium for Ukraine on 4 March and included two Belgian Turks and a Belgian veteran of the Afghanistan War as well as Eastern European immigrants. "[19], Many commentators have compared the International Legion to the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War,[20][21][22] which comprised foreign volunteers who supported the Second Spanish Republic against the Nationalist faction led by fascist general Francisco Franco that sought to overthrow the Republic. The same court had previously passed death sentences on two British members of regular Ukrainian units, under the same charges. [297], According to an interview with a former German volunteer, around 800 to 1,000 people were at the base at the time of the Russian attack, of whom 100 were presumed dead. [147] The Ministry of Defence has already reported its first applicants.