Ukrainian volunteer battalions

Ukrainian volunteer battalions (Ukrainian: Добровольчі батальйони, romanized: Dobrovolchi bataliony, more formally Добровольчі військові формування України, Dobrovolchi viiskovi formuvannia Ukrainy, 'Volunteer military formations of Ukraine', or abbreviated Добробати, Dobrobaty) were militias and paramilitary groups mobilized as a response to the perceived state of weakness and unwillingness of the regular Armed Forces to counter rising separatism in spring 2014.

[10] They enjoyed a high level of support in Ukrainian society, ranked second among the most respected institutions in the country.

However, their close ties with oligarchs raised fears of the volunteer formations becoming politicized or turning into private armies.

[5] Ordered to leave the front lines in 2015, the volunteer battalion phenomenon was largely over within a year of its beginning.

According to Interior Minister Avakov, by mid-April 2016 205 service personnel of the ministry's volunteer battalions had been killed in action, National Guardsmen included.

[15] Ministry of Internal Affairs had established 56 special tasks patrol police units sized from company to battalion.

[21] Aerorozvidka was nicknamed a "war startup" by some observers,[22] it began as a group of volunteer drone and IT enthusiasts.

"[26] By the end of 2015, Rekawek notes, "both sides took steps to professionalise their forces and incorporate the bottom-up organised volunteer battalions into e.g. the Ukrainian National Guard or, in the case of the 'separatists,' into the 'army corps.'

However, the Kyiv Post reported that by October 2015, only one foreign fighter from Russia had been granted citizenship.

The same month, 30 foreign fighters (from Belarus, Georgia, and Russia) rallied in Kyiv for Ukrainian citizenship.

The largest group of foreign fighters in Ukraine was approximately 3,000 Russian citizen volunteers.

Other countries whose nationals supported Ukraine included Albania (15), Australia (5), Austria (35), Azerbaijan (20), Belgium (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (5), Bulgaria (6), Canada (10), Czech Republic (5), Denmark (15), Estonia (10), Finland (15), France (15), Germany (15), Greece (2), Ireland (7), Israel (15), Italy (35), Latvia (8), Lithuania (15), Moldova (15), Kosovo (4), Netherlands (3), North Macedonia (4), Norway (10), Poland (10), Portugal (1), Romania (4), Serbia (6), Slovakia (8), Sweden (25), Turkey (30), the United Kingdom (10), and the United States (15).

The battalion has been under the command of Adam Osmayev after Isa Munayev was killed in action during the Battle of Debaltseve.

Members of the battalion view the war as part of a broader struggle against Russian imperialism and the Kadyrov regime.

[31] Since the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the battalion has participated in the defence of Kyiv and has taken part in numerous battles and offensives.

[32] The Sheikh Mansur Battalion is one of several Chechen volunteer armed formations fighting on the side of Ukraine.

Freedom of Russia Legion was formed following the 2022 invasion, which made up of defectors of the Russian armed forces.