>>16919257
A further Dig, based on the fourth pic the "Thank You" letter from Colonel, Commander of the Volunteer Formation Battalion "Free Ukraine"
>Oklahoma Veterans Head To Ukraine To Render Aid
https://www.news9.com/story/62355b67da25c20723798f4a/oklahoma-veterans-head-to-ukraine-to-render-aid-
Turns out there is not such thing as Volunteer Formation Battalion by that name specifically, nor can I find any information about Colonel, Commander Kostyantyn Zhuk.
There is a bit of an explanation of how the Battalions work, which are little more than a rag-tag militia. Feb 1, 2022,08:00am EST "The Ukrainian government this month put into effect a new law creating a framework for everyday civilians to join territorial defense battalions. Army special forces soldiers will lead the volunteers. The government will supply and arm them.
In Kharkiv, a city of one million that lies just 25 miles from the border, interest in the local volunteer battalion is strong even though the unit is just a few days old. โTo fight for the protection of your own house is a big motivation,โ one local man told Al Jazeera.
But if Russia widens its war on Ukraine, as seems increasingly likely, a regular army brigadeโnot some ragtag bunch of volunteersโwould be the first to fight for Kharkiv, which among other strategic assets includes an important tank factory. "
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/02/01/one-of-ukraines-best-brigades-defends-one-of-its-most-vulnerable-cities/?sh=2ed5a80876f9
These Battalions go far back though, related to more unidentifiable characters. For example this propaganda : Ukraine โs VolUnteer Battalions published in April-July 2016 INFANTRY magazine.
Authored by: MAJ Michael Cohen is a U.S. Army foreign area officer assigned to the
Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. He is fluent in Russian and
Ukrainian languages.
SSG Matthew Green is currently serving as a conventional arms control
inspector and weapons specialist with the Defense Threat Reduction
Agency-Europe. He has served in various tactical leadership positions with
units including the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment; 1st Squadron,
151st Cavalry Regiment; and 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st
Airborne Division.
I can find no further background on these people. The article concludes with: "In the aftermath of Ilovaisk, it is tempting for critics to
highlight the deficiencies of the volunteer battalions. Their indiscipline, poor equipment, lack of standardized training, uneven integration/cooperation with regular forces, and political activism (and in the case of Azov, repugnant far-right ideology) come under frequent attack. When faced with trained and equipped conventional forces, such as at Ilovaisk, the volunteers proved a less-than-equal match. Added to this list can be allegations of corruption, smuggling, and looting, which have hounded some battalions such as Shakhtarsk (disbanded as a result) and Tornado. Right Sector, which resisted subordination to Ukrainian control until the very
end, wound up in a shootout with Ukrainian police in west Ukraine in July 2015 that many allege was over control of illegal cigarette smuggling routes.23 All of that aside, the
Ukrainian volunteer battalions need to be given due credit for their accomplishments. They rose to fight for Ukraine when Ukraineโs military could not do so in a coordinated fashion (paralyzed by a rapid change of government and fast-moving events on the ground), fought the separatists using similar
tactics and equipment, and sent a message to Russia that ordinary Ukrainians were willing to take up arms to defend their land. Most crucially, the volunteer battalions bought
Ukraine time. Ukraine had time to complete several waves of mobilization, time to reorganize its interior and military forces
after a long period of neglect, time to conduct reinvigorated training, and time to clean traitors from its military and civilian
ranks. Ukraine had time for international sanctions to begin to bite Russia and time for locals in Donetsk in Luhansk to begin to regret what the Russians and separatists had brought them.24 They held the line and prevented further destabilization and occupation of further Ukrainian provinces. They showed that the last line of defense in any country is a loyal citizenry willing to take up arms in its defense.
https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2016/APR-JUL/pdf/16)%20Cohen_UkraineVolunteers.pdf