Simon Hunter
A COMPANY in the Catalan province of Lleida is offering courses for people who want to go and fight in Ukraine against Russian forces. The training costs €700 and lasts five days, and is designed to prepare potential combatants for what they will encounter once on Ukrainian soil.
According to a story in Spanish daily El Pais, the company is called G. O. A. Tactical and works as a filter for the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, facilitating the route for those interested in joining the International Legion unit in the country.
Official advice from the Spanish Foreign Ministry, however, is that no one should travel to Ukraine under any circumstances.
The current number of foreign fighters in Ukraine is unknown. But according to El Pais, the country’s Defence Ministry began a programme for volunteer combatants to come from abroad in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded the sovereign state.
G. O. A. Tactical is looking for people who already have two years of experience either in the military, a police force or the private sector.
Once they have been trained, they can sign contracts with the Defense Ministry that pay up to €3,400 for elite units, €2,800 for frontline troops, and some €1,800 if they are at the rear covering administrative tasks.
Police sources confirmed to El Pais that G. O. A. Tactical has been organising such courses for many years, and is viewed as a prestigious training centre among police officers and members of the military.
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