Ukraine Needs You: The Call for Foreign Volunteers in the Fourth Year of War

As Ukraine enters the fourth year of her resistance against Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war has taken on a grinding, attritional character. While Ukrainian resolve remains unbroken, the demands on her Armed Forces, civil infrastructure and social institutions continue to grow. The call for international solidarity has never been more urgent—not only in terms of money and weapons, but also in the form of people. Volunteers with skills, courage, and commitment are once again needed to help Ukraine endure and prevail.

This is a renewed appeal to the conscience of the world: Ukraine still needs foreign volunteers—not just fighters, but engineers, medics, drone specialists, teachers, trauma counsellors, legal advisers, mechanics, logisticians, and many others. The war is not just being fought on the front lines of Donetsk and Kharkiv, but also in hospitals, classrooms, border towns, and back offices across the country.

A Tradition of Internationalism

Since 2022, tens of thousands of foreign volunteers have served Ukraine in various capacities. Some joined the International Legion, fighting alongside Ukrainian units. Others provided medical care in field hospitals, helped repair power infrastructure after missile strikes, or trained Ukrainian teachers and journalists.

The Ukrainian people have not forgotten this sacrifice. Foreigners who volunteered in the darkest early days of the invasion are often treated as heroes. But as the war stretches on, fatigue has set in across many Western societies. Headlines have shifted elsewhere. Yet the battle continues, and the need for committed international support is as critical now as it was in 2022.

Why More Volunteers Are Needed Now

1. Manpower Shortages

Ukrainian forces have sustained significant losses and are stretched thin across a vast front. While mobilisation continues within Ukraine, many roles—particularly non-combat support functions—can be and are filled by foreign volunteers, freeing up Ukrainian personnel for the battlefield.

2. Specialised Skills

Ukraine’s military and civilian sectors are rapidly modernising, often with Western technology. Skilled foreign volunteers can bridge the gap between donated equipment and effective use. This includes software training, drone integration, cyber defence, and medical evacuation logistics.

3. Language and International Liaison

Volunteers fluent in English and other foreign languages are vital for coordinating international aid, documenting war crimes, translating for refugee support operations, and working with NGOs and donor governments.

4. Psychosocial and Humanitarian Support

Ukraine’s civilian population, especially in war-torn or occupied regions, continues to suffer. Psychologists, social workers, teachers, legal professionals and cultural workers are needed to help rebuild resilience and maintain social cohesion.

Who Can Volunteer: Key Skill Sets in Demand

Ukraine welcomes foreign volunteers across many sectors. Among the most urgently needed in 2025:

• Combat-experienced military volunteers (especially former medics, sappers, NCOs, and drone operators)

• Combat medics and trauma surgeons

• Paramedics and ambulance drivers

• Cybersecurity and communications technicians

• Drone engineers, FPV trainers, and AI programmers

• Mechanical and electrical engineers for vehicle and power grid repair

• Ukrainian-speaking interpreters and English-language trainers

• Legal professionals, particularly in international humanitarian law and war crimes documentation

• Psychologists and trauma counsellors

• Educators and child welfare specialists for displaced families

• Logisticians and warehouse managers for supply chains

• NGO administrators and grant writers

This is not merely a battlefield call-up—it is an international mobilisation of minds and hands. For many volunteers, their contribution may never involve direct combat, but it could be just as vital to Ukraine’s survival.

Routes into Service: How to Help

Those wishing to serve Ukraine can engage through several channels:

• The International Legion: For qualified military volunteers, Ukraine’s Foreign Legion continues to accept applicants from many nations, although vetting and training are stricter than in 2022.

  
  

• Humanitarian NGOs: Organisations such as Vostok SOS, Repair Together, Nova Ukraine, Caritas, HUGS Ukraine and Come Back Alive coordinate skilled volunteers in reconstruction, aid delivery and healthcare.

  
  

• Medical Brigades: International medical teams operate in field hospitals, mobile units and rehabilitation clinics across the country.

  
  

• Tech and Defence Startups: Ukraine’s Brave1 defence tech initiative and other startups are recruiting foreign AI developers, engineers and systems integrators.

  
  

• Journalistic and Legal Documentation: Volunteers with experience in journalism, human rights or war crimes documentation are needed for frontline reporting, archiving, and witness interviews.

Each route has different requirements in terms of security clearance, legal status, language skills, and health. Volunteers are advised to coordinate with reputable groups and obtain official permission before entering warzones. The Lviv Herald, if contacted, can provide advice and assistance through the organisation that owns the newspaper, the Ukraine Development Trust.

What Volunteers Should Expect

Ukraine in 2025 is not a collapsed state—but it is a country under siege. Volunteers must be prepared for hardship, uncertainty, and real if manageable personal risk. Russian missile strikes continue to target civilian infrastructure. The front line is brutal, fluid, and often technologically advanced.

But volunteers should also expect extraordinary solidarity, bravery and resilience. Ukrainian civil society is vibrant and grateful. Foreigners who come in good faith are welcomed with warmth and respect.

And perhaps most importantly, volunteers should expect to witness history, to be part of a struggle that may define the future of Europe and the principle of national sovereignty in the 21st century.

The World’s War, Still

Ukraine’s war is not merely a territorial conflict—it is a test of values. The principle that free peoples have the right to decide their own future is being defended with blood and sacrifice, every day, by ordinary Ukrainians. But they cannot do it alone.

As the war continues into its fourth year, it is time once again to remember that Ukraine’s call is not just for arms, but for solidarity in human form. The world rallied in 2022. Now, in 2025, she must rally again—with courage, with skills, and with those willing to serve.

Ukraine needs you still.