Ukraine looks abroad to boost its manpower
Both sides are actively recruiting soldiers from overseas
THE NEWEST recruits will leave at dawn to join Ukrainian brigades on the southern front. Some of them are excited. Others, deadly focused. “Infante”, a 38-year old veteran from near Bogotá, Colombia, does not say much at all. The whites of his eyes, which flicker as they scour the room for threats, speak their own language. J-C, a 60-year-old training co-ordinator from Brazil, looks on approvingly. He has seen it all—from East Timor to Bakhmut, for which he proudly wears a medal. “Few words,” he says. “But these are the guys who survive.”
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Foreign fighters welcome!”
Europe
June 21st 2025- This week’s NATO summit will be all about placating Donald Trump
- Ukraine looks abroad to boost its manpower
- Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic is rattled
- Corruption at the heart of his party wounds Spain’s prime minister
- A revival for the classic Renault 5
- Europe wants to show it’s ready for war. Would anyone show up to fight?
From the June 21st 2025 edition
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Ukraine’s political infighting gets nasty
As Trump starves it of arms, there is turmoil inside the government
Turkey’s strongman is becoming Donald Trump’s point man
But renewed war with Iran would put the honeymoon with Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the test
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Could the sporting ban precede a political one?
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And mosquitos are a growing problem too
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Enforcement of EU law has become an afterthought
A pragmatic amnesty for separatists benefits Catalonia
But it carries costs for the rule of law