Video: Butusov stated that the authorities have yet to launch a systematic effort to recruit foreign volunteers
According to journalist Yuriy Butusov, over the course of nine months, the authorities have failed to ensure the systematic recruitment of foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian military. He asserts that during this period, insufficient funds were allocated to implement such a mechanism.
Yuriy Butusov, commander of the UAV company of the 23rd Assault Regiment within the 2nd Corps of the National Guard “Charter,” made this statement during a live broadcast.
“It’s already September—just imagine, nine months of the year have passed, and we’ve had a second defense minister. What do you think has changed in nine months regarding the recruitment of foreigners? We’ve heard so many words, promises, and assurances that foreigners would come. ‘We’ll bring them in.’ Presumably, everyone thinks that in nine months in Ukraine—where there’s such an acute manpower problem, where there’s supposedly a shortage of people on the front lines, a shortage of infantrymen and assault troops— someone has been solving this problem in the country, a lot has been done, and there have been achievements,” he emphasized.
According to Butusov, the recruitment of foreign volunteers is driven by enthusiasm.
“It seems that the only people in our country who are concerned about bringing in foreigners are the command of the ‘Charter’ Corps and the commander of the 23rd ‘R.U.G.’ Regiment, Hamlet Avagyan. But it doesn’t bother those people in Ukraine who give interviews, make statements, and say that something needs to be done about mobilization, that something needs to be done about busification, that we need to recruit infantry somehow, that we need assault troops—let’s do something, let’s come up with plans and proposals.
The influx of foreigners is driven by enthusiasm. And if it weren’t for such selfless actions and efforts to engage businesses and entrepreneurs—what Hamlet Avagyan, the regiment commander, and Igor Obolensky, the commander of the “Charter” Corps, are doing personally—we would have been a complete failure right here. There would be no people; no one would come. And all these successes demonstrated by the foreign volunteers who are storming the front lines—not Ukrainians, but exclusively foreign volunteers—are part of the “R.U.G.” regiment,” the commander explained.
Butusov also noted that foreign volunteers are being brought in—and have been brought in—primarily with funds from philanthropists, businesspeople, and Ukrainians, thanks to the assistance of the Zaporizhzhia Military Civil Administration and exclusively due to the initiative of two National Guard commanders.
“The authorities are not making efforts to reduce the losses among Ukrainian citizens and to limit the recruitment of Ukrainians into infantry and assault units, nor are they making sufficient efforts to ensure that fewer Ukrainians fight in the infantry and more foreign volunteers join the infantry. I want to say that this meeting has now been going on for nine months. The National Security and Defense Council and Ihor Klymenko are paying attention to this, as are the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Guard command. But there’s a lot of attention. Yet there are no decisions—those requiring government action, directives from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, accountability from top leadership, or the allocation of actual funds from the budget.
Remember the high-profile interviews with Defense Minister Fedorov and the president’s statements about bringing in foreigners? Well, unfortunately, this wasn’t backed up by money. No funds have been allocated to bring in foreigners. There were words, there were promises, proposals, and plans. And many people think, “Well, I guess things are working out somehow.” Well, no, they’re not. And the country’s leadership must now pay attention to this. You can’t just get by on words alone. It’s more cost-effective to bring in foreign volunteers who are physically fit, motivated, and ready to fight than to keep rounding up people on the streets in such large numbers. Well, we can do that less often. We don’t need to do it this way,” he concluded.
Over the past day, 278 combat engagements were recorded on the front lines. Russian troops carried out the most assaults in the Pokrovsk direction—Ukrainian defenders repelled 43 enemy attacks.
As of September 16, 2026, the Ukrainian military had eliminated 1,530 Russian occupiers over the past 24 hours. The Russian Federation’s total military losses rose by another 1,530 soldiers.
Since the start of the day on September 15, there have been 219 combat engagements on the front lines. Russian troops launched the most attacks in the Pokrovsk direction—there, Ukrainian forces repelled 38 assaults.
