User:Ckblt/2 International Legion

The 2nd International Legion of Defense of Ukraine is a separate special purpose battalion within the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

History
The Battalion began to actively form in October 2022. The basis of the command structure of the battalion consists of the representatives of the former First International Company of the Special Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which participated in combat operations to repel the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in the East of Ukraine, in particular in the battles for Lysychansk, Hryhorivka, Siversk, and Bakhmut.

The Basis for Creation
The 2nd International Legion of Defense of Ukraine was created to provide an opportunity for all the foreign volunteers to partake in fighting off the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a part of a well coordinated multilingual fighting force. Its formation came as a direct consequence of President Zelensky's speech «Appeal to foreign citizens to help Ukraine in fighting against Russia’s aggression».

While people from all around the world were appalled by Russian invasion and the news of alleged Russian war atrocities, the danger of Russian revisionism was felt especially sharply in the countries that fell prey to the Russian expansionism in the past, foremost Belarusians, Georgians, and Ukrainians. Many representatives of other countries also serve in this battalion.

Symbols
The unit arm badge consists of the three flags on the blue field with a gladius in the center – Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which has become an informal Ukrainian battle flag since Revolution of Dignity and in the beginning of the Russian armed aggression in 2014. The other two are the flags of Georgia and free Belarus, denoting volunteers from Georgia, Belarus, and Ukraine who became a core of this unit during its creation.

The blue field symbolizes the dawn of the free world fighting against the darkness.

And gladius – the sword of Roman legionnaires symbolizes the armed support of the civilized world and the fight against the hordes of barbarians.

The inscription "Viribus Unitis" is Latin for "United forces".

Command

 * June-November 2022: Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Frolov, died while on a combat mission in the east of Ukraine
 * November-present time: Colonel Ruslan Myroshnychenko.