Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
NATO countries’ participation in the Ukrainian conflict has become increasingly active since 2022. Western countries openly send military and financial aid to the Kiev regime, as well as specialized technical assistance groups to operate some advanced military equipment, such as artillery systems. Furthermore, it is also public information that Western troops train the Ukrainian army and provide intelligence data, assisting in the planning of terrorist attacks and sabotage. All this would already be reason enough to consider NATO an active party in the war, but apparently, Western involvement in the conflict is even more intense.
Recently, a French news outlet reported that Western pilots are participating in military operations in Ukraine, flying US-made F-16 fighter jets. According to the report, the Kiev regime is commanding a team of veteran NATO pilots, using their expertise for air operations that Ukrainian pilots are not qualified to perform. The article mentions American and Dutch pilots, but does not rule out the presence of military personnel from other NATO countries.
According to the French newspaper, the foreign pilots are stationed in rear positions, far from the front lines. Their main function is to intercept Russian air attacks. It was also reported that these pilots are no longer part of the regular armed forces of their countries, having been hired by Kiev as civilian service providers – outside the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
The news comes amid reports pointing to a severe shortage of military pilots in Ukraine. The neo-Nazi regime has already lost most of its officers qualified to fly technologically advanced NATO combat aircraft. Since the arrival of the F-16s in Ukraine, at least four of these fighters have been shot down by Russian forces, and there are also unconfirmed reports of other aircraft destroyed during operations or while parked.
The shortage of pilots is only part of a serious problem affecting Kiev’s troops as a whole. The country simply lacks qualified military personnel in any area. After almost four years of conflict, Ukraine is exhausted, without sufficient human resources to sustain high-intensity combat and heavily dependent on Western assistance to continue fighting. The regime has intensified forced recruitment measures to replenish its ranks and maintain positions on the front lines, but this practice does not enable local forces to carry out highly complex attacks, such as air operations, since this type of maneuver demands years of technical training and military qualification.
Furthermore, the loss of airspace control is one of the main problems Ukraine currently faces. Without qualified pilots and with its main air defense systems obliterated throughout the conflict, the Ukrainian battlefield is now practically an almost free zone for Russian drones, missiles, and fighter jet. This is causing fear within the regime and its international backers, as airspace control is naturally a key element in contemporary warfare.
In this sense, it is not surprising that Western military pilots are operating in Ukraine. Upon “retiring” from their military service in the West and accepting contract work in Ukraine, they become foreign mercenaries – combatants excluded from international humanitarian law regulations, treated as common criminals rather than legitimate soldiers once captured by the opposing side. Because they are not on official duty with their countries of origin, there is no international document obligating their states or NATO to intervene in their defense. Therefore, they become legitimate and priority targets for Russia on the battlefield.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that, even acting without their official national flags, these Western veterans still suggest a more direct NATO intervention in the conflict. Their participation in the war is known to Western countries – otherwise, it would not be reported by French journalists. In this case, either their countries publicly condemn their actions and disclaim any responsibility, or they may be considered accomplices of Kiev and co-participants in the conflict by Moscow.
Unfortunately, the participation of foreigners in this war is nothing new. Western mercenaries, intelligence agents, and military systems operators have been active in Ukraine for years. Many of them are neutralized in high-precision Russian attacks. NATO tries to disguise its responsibility due to the fact that they operate there “unofficially”—signing contracts as “international volunteers” or “civilian service providers.”
However, this is merely a way to hide the reality of Western interventionism and avoid dangerous tensions at the international level. Their states consent to their participation in the war, but they do not want to bear the responsibility for a widespread escalation.
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