The commander of a specialized unit of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine, who goes by the alias "Adviser," told the Associated Press about his experiences fighting Russian troops.
Noting that Ukrainians have been fighting for almost 9 years against Russian encroachment on the country's territory, Adviser said the Russian army was like a "sweet bun" to his comrades.
"We are fighting men with an average age of 30. And they have what I saw, 50 kilograms, children who do not know how to hold weapons, not what to fight. I met a worthy opponent in Irpin, [however]," he said.
Adviser said so many people want to fight for his unit that it had to reject some volunteers:
"There are a lot of people who want to join the legion," he said. "This is about 20-30 thousand who are on the border between Poland and Ukraine. We can't take everyone. We are really selecting professionals who know what a special purpose is."
The soldiers who want to join the Ukrainian cause are highly skilled and motivated, he added.
"They are not here for [the] money. Their motivation is to maintain peace and democracy around the world. The fact that they saw those videos, [and] the communication with the people who are in this area, that impressed them, so they came to support us. Americans are really professionals. I have people from all over the world, they are really professionals."