Ukraine has established a foreign international legion for volunteers from abroad and Ukraine's President Zelensky has publicly urged foreigners to "fight side-by-side with Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals" in order to show support for his country.

Last week, Zelinsky said that more than 16,000 foreigners have answered his call.

Some of the foreign fighters in Ukraine say they were attracted by the cause: to halt an unprovoked attack they view as a once-in-a-generation showdown between the forces of democracy and dictatorship.

Standing outside the ticket hall of Lviv station on Sunday (March 5) were a group of British men in military uniform, waiting for a train to Kyiv. They were in high spirits, often exchanging fist-bumps and handshakes with Ukrainian refugees who thanked them for fighting for their country.

They were led by Ben Grant, a strapping Englishman from Essex, who had just completed a month-long stint as a security advisor in Iraq.

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