Hope of over 100 Nigerians who have registered with the Ukrainian Embassy in Abuja to fight Russia may have been dashed, as the Ukrainian Ambassador is reportedly requesting each applicant to pay $1000 for tickets.
According to a tweet by a Twitter user with the name Onovwo Omasoro Ali-Ovie, the applicants are also expected to evidence of military experience in Nigeria.
The monthly expected salary has been cut also from $7000 to $3000, Ali-Ovie wrote.
The government of Ukraine had asked foreign citizens to help fight its war, the Washington Post reported, noting that some were heeding the call, despite immense personal risk and uncertain legal grounds.
On Tuesday, Ukraine temporarily lifted visa requirements for foreign volunteers who wish to enter the country and join the fight against Russian forces. The move came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky created the International Legion of Territorial Defense over the weekend and called on volunteers to “join the defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world.”
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that anyone interested in participating should contact Ukraine’s diplomatic missions in their respective countries. “Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too,” Kuleba said Sunday.
Foreign citizens have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014, when Russia-backed separatists seized parts of the Donbass region. But experts who track foreign fighters say this is a step far beyond that in ambition. Ukrainian embassies are openly involved in the recruitment of fighters, while Western governments have offered support for those who wish to join the Ukrainian side.