56 Ukrainian to Leave for Lebanon: $550 a Month, $130,000 to Family in Case of Death
The Southern Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is hastily training specialists to be sent to Lebanon. This is what Yevhen Horbylev, chief draft officer of Zaporizhzhia oblast, told The Day. The mobilization plan, under which draft boards were to select urgently fifty six engineering and technical experts, was fulfilled in two days. The news of a $550 salary spread in a flash, and the number of those willing to say good-bye to a peaceful but penurious life and go to a far-away hot spot exceeded 300. We turned for details to Major-General Yevhen Horbylev.
“The Southern Operational Command (former Odesa Military District) was assigned the task of forming an engineer battalion. In the morning of May 29 I received the order to select the specialists. Just the next day, a 56-strong team was formed and sent to the military engineering institute of the Podilsk State Agrarian-and-Technical Academy for a crash retraining course. The servicemen will leave for Lebanon a month later.
“Did the haste impair the quality of selection? What were the main criteria?”
“We were to select specialists urgently indeed. However, you should not think we had to take all and sundry as a result of this haste. What helped us fulfill the order quickly was the computerized archive of personal files. The selection was very rigid. The main conditions were top physical fitness, moral and psychological qualities, and written consent of the next of kin. Besides, practical experience in the profession we need — not only during active service in the army but also ‘on civvy street.’ Professionalism is the top criterion. As to age limits, UN regulations prescribe that peacekeepers should not be more than 30 years old.”
“What conditions does the contract lay down for Ukrainian soldiers?”
“I want to stress it is too early to speak about signing the contract. Many candidates for peacekeepers will drop out during a month-long retraining course in Kamianets-Podilsk. These will be replaced by others in due time. There is more than a sufficient number of those wishing to set out for Lebanon. Today, we keep in reserve another 24 volunteers. Anyway, your question is quite legitimate. Firstly, from the moment of signing the contract, the serviceman is subject to free state insurance. Should hostilities break out, he will automatically belong to those participating in them. A soldier will be earning 550 dollars, an officer even more. In case a peacekeeper dies, the UN guarantees payment of 130,000 dollars to his family. By the way, the father and mother of a soldier coming from Kuibyshevsky district of our oblast, who died in Yugoslavia, were recently paid 65,000 dollars each. So the UN plays a fair game in this respect.”
“No matter how bitter it is to talk about it, but the question is more than pressing, to my mind. Does it not seem to you that as soon as the mind- boggling, by our standards, amounts of insurance have been made public, the ranks of Ukrainian peackeepers will include a number of ‘kamikaze’ who will intentionally seek death to ensure the prosperity of their wives, children, and parents?”
“Ruled out. I have already said each candidate is undergoing a thorough psychological examination. Most experienced doctors will be watching each of them for a month. What is more, our soldiers will also be under surveillance in Lebanon. As a rule, the UN replaces personnel every six months. If the behavior of a serviceman raises even the slightest suspicion of an action like this, he will be demobilized at once. As to fatal outcomes in general, we cannot rule these out. The expression ‘hot spot’ is self-explanatory. It is impossible to avoid deaths where weapons are kept in full readiness round the clock. Those wishing to serve in Lebanon are deeply aware of the degree of risk. It is for this reason that we must have a written consent form the relatives of each volunteer. For the same reason, many volunteers — out of the total 300 — failed to pass muster. On the other hand, judging by statistics, the incidence of death among the Ukrainian servicemen, including those from Zaporizhzhia oblast, in the peacekeeping forces is low. Our guys have been keeping peace in all ‘inflammable’ spots. In all this period of time, Zaporizhzhia draft boards have received only two KIA (killed in action — Ed.) notices. You should also bear in mind that those going to Lebanon are not spring- chicken conscripts but highly efficient professionals. This brings down the degree of risk to a large extent.”
