An ASEAN country confirms that its citizens are fighting in Ukraine.

Malaysian authorities confirmed that their citizen, Lee Bing Hang, 20 years old, registered as a mercenary for the Ukrainian army in April this year.

British volunteers to fight in Ukraine in 2022. (Source: Reuters)

On November 9, photos of a Malaysian citizen's ID card and driver's license circulated on social media after Russian forces announced the capture of the town of Levadne in eastern Ukraine in October.

Malaysian police said Lee, who is registered in Perlis state, appeared to have dropped his identity card and driving license after being injured in a drone attack.

“Lee went to the UK in March before signing up to join the Ukraine-Russia war and had no plans to return home,” said Malaysian police chief Razarudin Hussain.

Lee dropped out of college earlier this year and signed up as a mercenary for the Ukrainian military, earning $2,700 a month. Police also confirmed that Lee is the only known Malaysian citizen fighting with Ukrainian forces.

Malaysia is not taking sides in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and maintains close ties with Russia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently stated his strong opposition to any acts of violence and violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty, and called on all parties to work towards a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine-Russia conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

After the conflict with Russia broke out in early 2022, President Zelensky's administration created the International Corps to attract foreign volunteers to fight. It is estimated that thousands of people have come to Ukraine to fight alongside the country's army.

Russia calls them “foreign mercenaries,” accusing the Ukrainian government of recruiting fighters from 63 countries, some of whom have never seen combat. The majority of the International Corps members come from Europe and the Americas, with a small number from Asia, Africa and Australia, including citizens of Russia and Belarus.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced late last month that his country had neutralized most of Ukraine's "foreign mercenaries," specifically 5,800 fighters, including 1,427 from Poland, 466 from the United States and 344 from the United Kingdom.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/mot-nuoc-asean-xac-nhan-co-cong-dan-tham-chien-tai-ukraine-293170.html