基辅讯——乔丹·奥布莱恩自俄罗斯全面入侵开始以来一直为乌克兰作战，包括参加2022年赫尔松解放战役和2024年入侵俄罗斯库尔斯克地区。但服役多年后，奥布莱恩表示，他会劝阻其他外国人加入乌军，原因是他所面临的官僚问题。
KYIV — Jordan O’Brien has fought for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, including during the 2022 liberation of Kherson and the 2024 incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. But after years of service, O’Brien says he would warn other foreigners against joining up, citing the bureaucratic problems he has faced.
新西兰人奥布莱恩抱怨说，繁文缛节以及国家机器似乎对那些志愿为外国作战的人缺乏理解和同情。如果不加以解决，乌克兰可能会更难吸引迫切需要的新兵，从而阻碍其继续抵抗俄罗斯的努力。
O’Brien, a New Zealander, complained about red tape and a state apparatus that appears to have little understanding and compassion for people volunteering to fight for a foreign country. If that isn't fixed, Ukraine may have a harder time attracting desperately needed recruits, hampering its effort to continue resisting Russia.
“如果基辅想要更多外国战士，就必须修正那种荒谬的官僚偏见，这种偏见正在搞砸所有已经为乌克兰作战的外国人，”奥布莱恩说。他因与乌克兰并肩作战，被俄罗斯缺席判处14年监禁。
“If Kyiv wants more foreign fighters, it needs to fix the ridiculous bureaucratic bias that screws all of us foreigners over who have already fought for Ukraine,” said O’Brien, who has been sentenced in absentia by Russia to 14 years in prison for fighting alongside Ukraine.
截至8月，乌克兰国防部表示，来自72个国家的约1.6万名外国人正在乌克兰武装部队服役，为一支常年缺兵少将、兵力达90万人的军队提供关键帮助。
As of August, the defense ministry said some 16,000 foreigners from 72 countries were serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, giving crucial help to a 900,000-strong military that is chronically short of recruits.
这些志愿者面临着一个临近的截止日期。乌克兰议会去年通过一项法律，规定在军队服役的外国人必须在11月10日前提交文件，以获得临时居留许可。
The volunteers are facing a looming deadline. The Ukrainian parliament last year passed a law mandating that foreigners serving in the military have to file paperwork by Nov. 10 to get temporary residence permits.
“如果没有任何改变，那么11月10日之后，大量在乌克兰作战的外国人将从技术上说非法滞留该国，”乌克兰国防部副部长柳博夫·哈兰在社交媒体帖子中表示。
“If nothing changes, then after November 10, a significant number of the foreigners defending Ukraine will technically be in the country illegally,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Liubov Halan said in a social media post.
这与给予外国志愿者的官方招募信息相冲突，后者称他们的合同“是在乌克兰合法长期居住的依据”。“尽管我能证明自己曾在乌克兰军队服役，但他们仍然让我们外国人寸步难行；他们中没有人尊重为乌克兰作战的人，而是把我们当作非法外国人对待，”奥布莱恩说。
That clashes with the official recruitment information given to foreign volunteers, which says their contract "is the basis for legal long-term stay in Ukraine." “Even though I can prove I was serving in the Ukrainian army, they still make it impossible for us foreigners; none of them have any respect for people who fight for Ukraine, and they treat us like illegal aliens,” O’Brien said.
“我曾在乌克兰的三个不同部队服役，但这些部队都在我的军事合同中出现了错误，或者他们的合同签订方式不符合法律规定。因此，当我前往移民部门申请我辛苦争取到的居留权时，他们却因为我合同中的信息有误而要求我当场支付罚款，”奥布莱恩补充道。
“I have been in three different Ukrainian units, and all of them have made mistakes in my military contracts or done them in a way that is not legally correct, so when I go to immigration to apply for the residency that I fought hard for, they ended up giving me a fine that I had to pay on the spot because my information was incorrect in my contract,” O’Brien added.
今年，乌克兰军事监察机构收到了300多起来自外国志愿者及其家属的投诉，这些投诉涉及战斗人员身份的认定、士兵主动要求提前终止合同的情况，以及医疗护理的及时提供等问题。
The Ukrainian military ombudsman's office has fielded more than 300 complaints this year from foreign volunteers and their families related to granting combatant status, early termination of contracts at the soldier’s request and ensuring timely medical care.
在为总部位于华盛顿的欧洲政策分析中心（Center for European Policy Analysis）撰写的一份报告中，一名美国志愿者表示，他和大多数战友都未能收到所谓的“UBD”文件——这份文件是确认他们参与战斗经历的凭证，也是他们获得乌克兰退伍军人身份的必要条件。
In a report for the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis think tank, an American volunteer said that neither he nor most of his comrades had received their UBD — the document confirming combat participation that opens the door to veteran status in Ukraine.
造成这一问题的部分原因在于从纸质身份证明向数字军事身份证明的过渡过程中存在管理不善的情况，导致许多外国志愿者被遗漏在认证流程之外。
Part of the issue is due to an uneven transition from paper identification to digital military IDs that has left out many foreign volunteers.
今年早些时候，《Ukrainska Pravda》报纸的一项研究发现，语言障碍是一个严重的问题，尤其是对于以西班牙语为母语的哥伦比亚人来说；他们构成了外国服役人员中的最大群体。该研究还指出，如果退伍军人被乌克兰军队解雇，他们有时可能会面临被驱逐出境的风险。基辅方面已经开始意识到这个问题的严重性。
A study by the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper earlier this year found that language barriers are a big problem, especially for Spanish-speaking Colombians who constitute the largest group of foreign service members. The study also found that if a veteran has been discharged from the Ukrainian forces, they can sometimes face deportation. Kyiv is waking up to the problem.
“我们非常重视每一位志愿者的贡献，并充分认识到政府有责任维护他们的权利和合法权益，”乌克兰军事监察机构士兵权益部门负责人柳德米拉·卡连丘克（Liudmyla Kalenchuk）表示。
“We highly value everyone’s contribution and fully recognize the state’s responsibility to uphold their rights and legitimate interests,” said Liudmyla Kalenchuk, head of the soldiers' rights department in Ukraine’s military ombudsman's office.
上个月，国防部成立了一个工作组，旨在改善外籍士兵及其家属的服役条件、法律地位和待遇。乌克兰议会也在推动立法，以简化并延长外籍战斗人员在该国合法居留的期限，并取消其他官僚负担。
Last month, the defense ministry started a working group aimed at improving terms of service, legalization and treatment of foreign soldiers and their families. The Ukrainian parliament is also working on legislation to simplify and extend deadlines to legalize the stay of foreign fighters in the country and lift other bureaucratic burdens.
“许多外籍战斗人员无法完成获得居留许可的流程，因为他们远离所在单位基地执行战斗任务，无法同时收集所需文件并前往移民局办理，”哈兰说。
“Many foreign fighters are unable to complete the process of obtaining a residence permit, as they are carrying out combat missions far from their unit’s base and cannot simultaneously gather the necessary documents and visit the migration service,” said Halan.
卡连丘克认为，合法化问题并不普遍，但确实存在一些弱势类别的服役人员——例如，在服役期间丢失护照的人，其中包括俄罗斯、白俄罗斯和南非公民。
Kalenchuk argued that legalization problems are not widespread, but did say there are vulnerable categories of service members — for instance, those who lost their passports while serving, including citizens of Russia, Belarus and South Africa.
乌克兰在2022年俄罗斯全面入侵的最初几个小时就向像奥布赖恩这样的外国志愿者敞开了大门，当时该国的生存岌岌可危，米根·莫布斯说，她是帮助退伍军人及其家属的非政府组织R.T.韦瑟曼基金会的主席。
Ukraine opened its doors to foreign volunteers like O’Brien in the first hours of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, when the country's survival was at stake, said Meaghan Mobbs, president of the R.T. Weatherman Foundation, an NGO helping war veterans and their families.
“谁也无法预料到会有如此多的外国人响应这一号召，也无法预料到俄罗斯的侵略战争会以这种规模持续数年，”莫布斯说。“最初作为战时紧急机制的东西，已经变得更加庞大和永久。现在系统必须跟上了。”俄罗斯也招募外籍战斗人员，其中许多人来自较贫穷的国家，渴望获得现金或俄罗斯国籍。其朝鲜盟友也与俄军并肩作战。
“No one could have predicted either the extraordinary number of foreigners who would answer that call or that Russia’s war of aggression would continue at this scale for years," Mobbs said. "What began as an emergency wartime mechanism became something much larger and more permanent. The system now has to catch up.”Russia also recruits foreign fighters, many from poorer countries keen to get cash or Russian citizenship. Its North Korean allies are also fighting alongside Russian forces.
乌克兰为外国人提供一项为自由而战的事业、战斗经验、危险前线任务每月高达1万美元的报酬，以及在服役六个月后可以退出三年合同的可能性。薪酬与乌克兰士兵获得的相同。
Ukraine offers foreigners a freedom-fighting cause, combat experience, deals worth up to $10,000 per month for dangerous front-line duty and the possibility of quitting the three-year contract after six months of service. The pay is the same as that received by Ukrainian soldiers.
卡连丘克表示，约有8000名外国志愿者在乌克兰陆军部队中服役，其余8000名志愿者分散在国民警卫队、特种运输服务部队及其他单位中。
About 8,000 foreign volunteers serve in the ground forces, while the remaining 8,000 are dispersed among the National Guard, special transport service and other units, said Kalenchuk.
乌克兰在招募信息中明确要求：志愿者年龄应在18至60岁之间、身体健康、具备合法入境乌克兰的资格；具备军事或战斗经验者优先。只有掌握英语、西班牙语、葡萄牙语、俄语或乌克兰语的人才符合招募条件。
In its recruitment information, Ukraine says volunteers should be between 18 and 60 years of age, fit, legally allowed to enter Ukraine, andthat military and combat experience is an advantage. Only people who understand English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian or Ukrainian are accepted.
外国志愿者的招募人数持续增长——从2022年的每月约100人增加到现在的每月600人，其中约40%来自拉丁美洲。
The flow of foreign recruits is growing, from some 100 a month in 2022 to 600 a month now. About 40% come from Latin America.
卡连丘克指出，大多数人前来乌克兰是为了协助抗击俄罗斯；但也有部分人表示，薪资待遇以及获得战斗经验的机会也是他们加入志愿军的动力。
Most come to Ukraine to help fight against Russia, while some add that pay and the opportunity to gain combat experience are also motivating factors, Kalenchuk said.
乌克兰各部队在接收、培训、管理与外国志愿者沟通方面的能力存在差异。
Ukrainian units have differing abilities to receive, train, communicate with and administer foreign personnel.
莫布斯表示：“外国志愿者的经验、能力及动机也各不相同。自2022年以来，乌克兰在了解哪些外国志愿者真正具有价值方面积累了大量经验，这些经验应该为未来的招募工作提供参考。”
“Foreign volunteers themselves also vary enormously in experience, capability and motivation. Ukraine has learned a tremendous amount since 2022 about what makes a foreign volunteer genuinely valuable, and those lessons should shape what comes next,” Mobbs said.
军事监察机构指出，外国志愿者还面临诸多问题：他们抱怨居住许可手续繁琐、工资未得到及时发放、缺乏相应的医疗保障、没有获得应得的福利与法律保护，以及食品和军事物资供应不足。
As well as red tape linked to residence status, foreign fighters also complain about not being paid, not being given adequate medical care, the lack of official combatant status that gives social benefits and protections, and inadequate provision of food and military supplies, the military ombudsman's office said.
此外，还有批评指出乌克兰官僚机构在处理志愿者家属问题时存在不足。卡连丘克透露，向监察机构提交的投诉中，超过10%来自志愿者家属，他们希望获得关于志愿者是否失踪或阵亡的官方确认。
There is also criticism over how Ukrainian bureaucracy deals with the families of volunteers. More than 10% of the complaints to the ombudsman’s office come from families requesting official confirmation of whether a volunteer is missing or has been killed in action, Kalenchuk said.
“对我来说，这些问题的严重性就体现在它们对个人生活产生的直接影响上了。那些失去亲人的母亲、父亲、妻子和孩子们，他们的亲人远赴数千英里之外，去保卫一个与他们无关的国家。有些家庭告诉我们，他们在做出这样的牺牲后感到被忽视了；甚至当他们提出一些棘手的问题或要求得到答案时，还会遭到诋毁。这种事情绝不应该发生，”莫布斯说道。
“For me, this is where the shortcomings become very personal. These are mothers, fathers, wives and children whose loved ones traveled thousands of miles to defend a country that was not their own. Some families have told us they feel forgotten after that sacrifice — or even maligned when they ask difficult questions or push for answers. That should never happen,” Mobbs said.
据她介绍，有些家庭是在收到官方通知之前，通过社交媒体或其他渠道才得知自己亲人的死亡消息的。这些家庭需要花费数月时间，辗转于各个军事单位、政府部门、外交机构之间，办理身份确认、遗骸归还以及根据乌克兰法律申请赔偿和福利的手续——整个过程中，他们始终没有一个明确的负责为他们提供帮助的机构或人员。
According to her, some families have learned of deaths from fellow soldiers, or via social media, before receiving official notification. Families can spend months navigating military units, ministries, diplomatic missions, identification and repatriation procedures, and compensation and benefits under Ukrainian law without one clear pathway or person responsible for guiding them.
受伤的志愿者有权享受免费的医疗救治；如果他们因此致残，还能获得额外的经济补偿。阵亡士兵的家属可以获得1500万格里夫纳（约合30万欧元）的赔偿金。
Wounded volunteers are entitled to free medical treatment and a special payout in the event of disability. Families of fallen soldiers receive compensation of 15 million hryvnia (€300,000).
“本就已经悲痛欲绝了，却还得去研究一个处于战争状态中的外国的官僚体系……这实在让人难以承受，”莫布斯补充道。
“Grief is difficult enough without having to become an expert in the bureaucracy of a foreign country at war,” Mobbs added.
不过，她也表示仍有理由保持乐观。Weatherman基金会协助组织了一场会议，让国防部副部长哈兰与九名遇难或失踪的美国志愿者的家属进行了交流。
However, she said there is reason for optimism. The Weatherman Foundation helped organize a meeting between Halan, the deputy defense minister, and families of nine American volunteers who were killed or went missing.
“对我来说，最重要的是她愿意倾听家属们的诉求。家属们能够直接讲述自己所经历的一切，以及政府在哪些方面让他们感到失望。目前政府部门正在着手进行行政和立法方面的改革，我们也决心将这些经历转化为解决问题的措施，”莫布斯说。
“What mattered to me was that she listened. The families were able to explain directly what had happened to them and where the system had failed them. The ministry is now working on administrative and legislative changes, and we are committed to helping turn those experiences into solutions,” Mobbs said.
哈兰表示，国防部会在今后的工作中充分考虑这次经历，以更好地支持外国军事人员及其家属。
The ministry will take this experience into account in its work on supporting foreign military personnel and their families, Halan said.
“他们是自己祖国的儿子，但在危急时刻，他们成为了乌克兰人民和乌克兰军队士兵的兄弟。因此，我们有义务确保他们的家人在与乌克兰国家互动的每一个阶段都能获得高质量的支持，”哈兰补充道。
“They are sons of their own homeland, yet in a moment of crisis, they became brothers to the Ukrainian people and soldiers in the Ukrainian army. Therefore, we have an obligation to ensure that their families receive high-quality support at every stage of their interaction with the Ukrainian state,” Halan added.
奥布莱恩表示，除非该国对待外国志愿者的方式发生改变，否则他会警告潜在的志愿者不要加入。
Unless the country's approach to foreign volunteers changes, O'Brien said he would warn potential volunteers againstg up.
“军方人事系统和文职部门需要重大变革，因为现在我会告诉所有人远离乌克兰，因为如果出了任何问题，你不会得到照顾，即使有我这边的一位律师帮忙，做任何事情都是一场艰难的斗争，”奥布莱恩说。
“The military HR system and the civilian departments need significant change because right now I tell everyone to stay away from Ukraine, because you won't be looked after if anything goes wrong and even with a lawyer on my side it's an uphill battle to do anything,” O’Brien said.
但当被问及是否后悔自2022年以来与乌克兰人并肩对抗俄罗斯时，奥布莱恩说不后悔。
But when asked if he regrets fighting alongside Ukrainians against Russia since 2022, O'Brien said no.
“我加入是因为俄罗斯是一个需要被制止的恐怖主义政权，”他说，并补充道：“我留在乌克兰，是因为我为之战斗的是人民，不是（总统弗拉基米尔）泽连斯基，也不是政府或那些一次又一次坑我们的部门，而是那些只想过平静生活的普通乌克兰人。”
“I joined because Russia is a terrorist regime that needs to be stopped,” he said, adding: “I stay with Ukraine because it is the people that I fight for, not [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy or the government or the departments who continue to fuck us over again and again, but the everyday Ukrainians who just want to live in peace.”