“Volunteering” to fight for Kiev is “not a crime in Finland,” its foreign ministry has said
The Finnish foreign ministry has published official guidelines for its citizens who are willing to fight for Ukraine as mercenaries. An information page that appeared on the ministry’s website on Monday contains a broad range of recommendations covering anything from practical steps before moving to Ukraine, through to payment, compensations and “declaring death in Finland.”
“Volunteering in the Ukrainian Armed Forces is not a crime in Finland,” the information page states, adding however that the foreign ministry “does not recommend or promote volunteering.” Diplomats will provide assistance to Finnish nationals fighting for Kiev “in accordance with the Consular Services Act, when possible,” the page specifies.
The word “mercenary” is not used in the text, but would-be foreign fighters are referred to as “volunteers.”
A warning that the “possibilities for providing consular assistance in Ukraine are very limited” and would-be foreign fighters would have to resolve issues through Ukrainian, not Finnish authorities, is also included.
“The service contract is a private law contract and is subject to Ukrainian law,” the guidelines state, adding that the Finnish foreign ministry “cannot assist in concluding or withdrawing from contracts.” According to the information page, payments, compensations and medical treatment in case of a combat injury should also be provided by the Ukrainian side.
Back in December, Finnish diplomats told media in Helsinki that some 100 citizens had travelled to Ukraine since February 2022. Around 10 of them have been confirmed dead or are missing in action, according to the head of the consular services department at the foreign ministry.
Kiev has been actively attracting foreigners to join its forces as mercenaries since the start of the hostilities with Russia. Last month, Ukraine’s notorious neo-Nazi Azov unit announced it was seeking English-speaking fighters to form an international battalion, according to the Guardian.
The Ukrainian military has been struggling to replenish its ranks between heavy losses and a mobilization campaign fraught with massive draft dodging and desertions. According to a recent report, up to 1,700 members of a brigade trained in France have fled without firing a shot.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that all foreign nationals fighting with the Ukrainian military are legitimate military targets. The Russian Investigative Committee also said last September that it had concluded investigations against 785 such foreign mercenaries, including over suspected war crimes. In December, one such case was launched against Brazilian national Lucas Ribeiro de Jesus, who was accused of engaging in terrorist activities and torturing POWs in Russia’s Kursk Region.
