I In spring 2022 I received information that in the ranks of Ukrainian army a Kazakh also fights. I contacted the man and he told me his motives. “My wife is Ukrainian and our two children have Kazakh and Ukrainian roots,” he said. “This country gave me love and family, I am obliged to defend it. That is my duty.”
The Kazakh, dressed in a Ukrainian uniform, turned out to be an interesting and educated man. At the time of the interview he was just over 30 years old. When I contacted him, he was right in the center of the fighting. That was in the region Donetsk. His battalion defended the city of Volnovacha and ensured the relocation of the civilian population.
I conducted the interview when the Ukrainian soldiers had already withdrawn from the city. Because the internet only worked sporadically in this area, we recorded the interview using Instagram Messenger. I sent him my questions, and the soldier responded with voicemails as soon as he had internet connection and time. In the background of these voice messages, howling wind and exploding shells could be heard.
He is not the only Kazakh fighting on Ukraine’s side. On his return to Kazakhstan Criminal proceedings will be brought against him and the others for “participation in a foreign armed conflict” or for “mercenary behavior”. That is why the Ukrainian authorities do not disclose who the foreign volunteers in their army are and from which countries they come.
Hoping for recognition – at least in Ukraine
“I went on a trip and I know that Ukraine will not abandon me, because I am not only an active contract soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but I will also stay here and become a Ukrainian citizen,” the Kazakh told me in the interview at the time.
Legal complications – and punishments in their home country – await soldiers without Ukrainian citizenship.
But after three years of war, the hero of my interview still has not received Ukrainian citizenship, which creates a lot of legal complications. This despite the fact that he was awarded the third degree “Order for Bravery” and suffered several wounds during the war.
Looking at all these cases, many could say that the Kazakhs defending Ukraine are acting right, while the Kazakhs fighting on Russia’s side are not. However, for the Kazakh authorities, both sides are criminals violating the law. In Kazakhstan, fighters must have one Imprisonment of up to twelve years count, no matter what army they were in.
Some may say this is unfair. On the other hand, one can say that the Kazakh soldiers on both sides knew what they were getting into. But did they really know that?
Nikita Danilin
born in 1996, is a journalist from Almaty (Kazakhstan). He was a participant in one Eastern Europe workshops by the taz Panter Foundation.
From Russian by Tigran Petrosyan.
Through Donations to the taz Panter Foundation Independent and critical journalists on site and in exile are financially supported as part of the “Diary of War and Peace” project.