One foreigner who has joined the volunteer fighters is 21-year-old Jraven Gerber from Seattle. He first tried to enter Ukraine's International Legion, but he said they kept saying "Tomorrow, tomorrow." Impatient, he decided to look elsewhere for action and connected with the Territorial Defense Forces.
"I believe it's best to fight when you're young," he said. Among his fellow fighters are people younger than him, 18 or 19, and "if they're fighting, why shouldn't I?"
Francisco Floro, a 30-year-old from Spain, works in security back home and, like Gerber, saw defending Ukraine as a just cause.
"I believe that all the West has a responsibility toward Ukraine," said Floro. "We have to participate in this and tell the world what's happening here."
He found his way to the Territorial Defense Forces after speaking with the Ukrainian embassy back home. Despite the drama of war, Floro said the life he eventually wants is a pretty tranquil one. "I don't aspire to more than that," he said.
Like many of the volunteer fighters, 29-year-old local entrepreneur Vadym Kovalyov never expected to go to war. "These people, my brothers, they are in the right place," he said. "They made the right choice not to go abroad. They stayed with the people and on our land to defend it."
