Military personnel accuse individual commanders of the Foreign Legion of illegal appropriation of weapons, theft of personal ammunition and threats of physical violence. 12 soldiers of the Legion told journalists about this.
The relevant investigation was published by The Kyiv Independent.
Legionnaires claim the disappearance of weapons, in particular those provided to Ukraine by Western partners, and link this to the illegal actions of their commanders, whom they also accuse of embezzling personal equipment and equipment.
According to foreign fighters, anti-tank weapons — RPG and NLAW, small-arms — M4 rifles, bayonets for CZ and SCAR-L rifles, Glock pistols, ammunition were missing from the Legion armories.
Another seven legionnaires claim that the commanders took away personal equipment provided by volunteers or purchased with their own funds.
They support their words with photos, reports and screenshots of messages that they claim prove the disappearance of weapons and ammunition in the Legion.
Among the commanders accused of misappropriating weapons and equipment is Piotr Kapuscynski, a former Polish gangster who, as journalists have found out, serves in the Legion, although he is wanted in Poland for fraud and other crimes and was accused of criminal offenses in Ukraine (for a time the investigation was suspended during the war).
Kapuscynskyi refused to talk to The Kyiv Independent about the allegations and asked not to call him again.
In August, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) began an investigation into the possible theft of light weapons and volunteer aid in the Foreign Legion. An SSU officer told the Polish TVN channel about this on condition of anonymity. According to him, the service is investigating Kapuscinskiʼs involvement in the Legionʼs arms trade.
Journalists of The Kyiv Independent turned to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (MDI), which takes care of the part of the Legion where Kapuscynskyi serves, and they replied that they had started an official inspection on November 14.
All but one of the Legionnaires spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from Legion commanders. Their testimonies are the same. Two legionnaires independently told The Kyiv Independent that at the end of spring, weapons and ammunition provided by Western partners disappeared from the Legionʼs hangars in eastern Ukraine, which the legionnaires had brought with them to carry out military tasks in that direction.
According to these soldiers, at that time it was Kapuscynskyi who was in charge of armories and the distribution of weapons among servicemen.
- The Foreign Legion is a military formation created in February 2022 for foreigners who responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs call to defend Ukraine from Russian aggression.