MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said an international legion of foreign fighters never existed, following reports about the dissolution of such a unit.
"The international legion cannot be disbanded, because it is a general term for a network of volunteer formations operating across different branches of the Ukrainian army," the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel.
The statement said foreign mercenaries serve in multiple structures, including the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, and the National Guard. The ministry added that only infantry battalions of the Ukrainian Ground Forces and Territorial Defense Forces are being reorganized, reportedly because they were originally designed "for rapid intake of foreign volunteers."
A few days ago, Member of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) Maryana Bezuglaya said the army command was disbanding the international legion, with foreign fighters being reassigned to assault units. The following day, the army confirmed that international units were being integrated into assault formations of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
Earlier, Russian security officials reported that Ukraine was transferring foreign legion troops to assault units due to heavy frontline losses. On February 4, Russian security services told TASS that foreign fighters in Ukrainian ranks had not received pay for six months.