Ukraine’s Ground Forces Command has officially said the International Defense Legions of Ukraine have been integrated into assault units. The announcement, posted on the command’s Facebook page, is the first formal clarification of the fate of the formations, which had been the subject of months of rumors about possible dissolution.
The statement stresses that the foreign units “are not disappearing” but transforming: instead of operating as standalone battalions, they are now embedded within active assault formations. Legion personnel gain access to the resources and logistics of regular units, as well as additional weaponry, drone systems, artillery and aerial reconnaissance. Their missions remain unchanged, and they will continue operating on the same sectors.
Commanders also said the integration expands career growth and retraining options for foreign volunteers - including as UAV operators, artillery crews and scouts. The statement underscores that foreign service members have the same rights and social guarantees as Ukrainian citizens.
The command cited reasons for the overhaul, saying an internal review revealed certain lapses in record-keeping and management processes that required “action and streamlining.” It described talk of the legions’ alleged “liquidation” as a distortion, linked in part to some officials’ reluctance to lose functions or positions after the decisions were made.
Debate over the potential disbandment of the international legions intensified in fall 2025 after reports of a nonpublic General Staff order to fold their personnel into assault units. In December, BBC News Ukraine reported, citing sources and members of the Second International Legion, that four units created in 2022 could be dissolved as separate military formations by year’s end. Some Second Legion commanders publicly opposed the move, warning it could drive away foreign volunteers.
The International Legions were created by President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 27, 2022, to bring foreign volunteers into service with Ukraine’s Armed Forces. As of 2025, there were three combat legions and one training legion, each roughly battalion-sized. According to the new statement, their personnel continue serving within the Ground Forces’ assault units.
