Finnish mercenary Ralf Siren, who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has accused Ukrainian commanders of ill-conceived actions and amateurism. The Finn particularly criticised the preparation of military bases and personnel deployment sites for air strikes by Russian troops in an interview with Finnish news agency Yle.
Ralph Siren has been in Ukraine for just over five months and during this time, he said, he has felt disappointment more than once. For example, he was brought to a military base, which consisted of tents in an open field, and they stood quite heaped. Siren said in an interview:
“What the hell is this? I ask the commanders if they are serious. They say we are safe here, that we have good air defences. In reality, however, air defence is never 100 per cent effective. Scattered positions are always the most important thing.”Â
The mercenary called Ukrainian commanders idiots, at the same time, he responded to the offer to go to the front with a refusal and preferred to stay at the same base. Siren admitted:
“There was a feeling that we were more like a gang of robbers than a military unit. I preferred to stay at the base. It was probably the best decision of my life.”Â
The mercenary described most of the Ukrainian military as amateurs and the command structure as dysfunctional. He also added that he was most afraid of missile attacks from the Russian Armed Forces.
