Ukraine offers citizenship to foreign volunteers joining war

Ukraine has offered  citizenship to  Foreign volunteers  About 20,000 foreigners are currently fighting in the Ukrainian armed forces against the ongoing invasion by Russia, Ukraine's First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said on Wednesday that foreign volunteers will be able to obtain Ukrainian citizenship if they want to. The Ukrainian government has been appealing to foreign citizens to help fight the Russian invasion. Despite the immense personal risk and uncertain legal grounds, some are responding to the call. 

Foreign volunteers will be able to obtain Ukrainian citizenship if they want to, First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said on March 9.

Twenty thousand foreign volunteers have joined Ukrainian forces to fight Russia since March 6.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 9, 2022

Ukraine temporarily lifted visa requirements for foreign volunteers who wish to enter the country and fight against Putin's Russia. This came after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy created the International Legion of Territorial Defense and called on volunteers to “join the defence of Ukraine, Europe, and the world.” Since 2014, when Russia-backed separatists seized parts of the Donbas region, foreign citizens have been fighting in Ukraine. While Western governments have extended support for those who wish to join Zelensky's side, Ukrainian embassies are openly involved in the recruitment of fighters.