A Spanish company recruiting volunteers to fight in Ukraine claims to be in contact with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, offering contracts for up to €3,400 (about $3,650). The most difficult test for future Spanish fighters in the International Legion of Ukraine is to hold a key position they have won for three days. To do this, the volunteers spend two nights and three days without sleep, defending the strategic point. "Of the whole course, this is the test with the highest dropout rate," Francisco Galván, director and head trainer of G.O.A. Tactical, the only company in Spain dedicated to training people who want to fight in Ukraine, told Euronews. This is followed by other exercises, such as running with military equipment on their shoulders, capturing and "clearing" occupied trenches and stress tests in a hostile environment. For seven hundred euros, the future fighters receive five days of training to experience what will happen on the battlefield. The reward? A contract with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, worth up to €3,400 if they join the elite units. "Our company has contacts with defence ministries all over the world, including Ukraine. What we do is evaluate a person who is interested in fighting and give them the contacts so they can get in touch with them," says Galván. "It is the volunteer who has to call them directly, but our contacts are waiting for him. He then shows the validation certificate and he has the job," he adds. This is to avoid the company being classified as a private security and defence contractor, the so-called Private Military Companies, a service similar to the Wagner Group. "We have people fighting in Ukraine. One of them went back to Spain to rest for a few months, and that's when he was asked (by Ukrainian officials) if he could recruit people to fight in the war," says Galván. After 18 months of fighting Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine needs soldiers. Many of them are exhausted, and the casualty rate is high. Although the Ukrainian army avoids giving specific figures on the number of soldiers, Statista Research estimates there are 500,000, double the number serving just before the conflict began. There is also much speculation about the number of casualties, but US military intelligence estimates 190,000 — including the wounded — in the year and a half of war. The International Legion, supervised by Ukrainian intelligence, is made up of military volunteers from all over the world. In March 2022, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense launched a program to recruit these volunteers into its army. The number of people currently fighting in this battalion has not been made public. According to Galván, the problem is that there are a lot of people who arrive without training, so the ministry is looking for more specialized volunteers. The company told Spanish media that a frontline position will receive a salary of €2,800 per month, while backroom administration will receive a salary of around €1,800 per month. The most sought-after position is in the elite units, with a salary of up to €3,400 per month. Candidates must have at least two years' experience in the sector, be it military, police or security. Over 200 applications have been received since the call was launched a week ago. "This course is not for people coming from scratch, it would be impossible to train someone in just five days. What we do is evaluate whether the person really knows and can fight in Ukraine," says Galván. The director stresses that none of the volunteers have a criminal record. — Euronews
