Perlis Man Fighting As Gun For Hire In Ukraine Still Alive

He had signed up to be a mercenary due to interest in the military and an attractive salary.

A young Malaysian man from Perlis who is reportedly fighting for Ukraine against Russia has been identified as Lee Bing Hang and is believed to be alive and well.

The 20-year-old entered the radar of Malaysian social media users last week when a photo of his driver’s licence wound up online after they were reportedly found on a battlefield in Ukraine after Russian forces captured a Ukranian base.

According to posts by social media user “Zlatti71” on Twitter, Russia’s 336th Marine Brigade made the discovery in Levadne, Zaporizhia.

Speculations had been floating around on Lee’s fate as it appeared he no longer was in possession of his licence.

In a Bernama report, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain confirmed that Lee is still alive but has no plans of returning to Malaysia.

Lee is also the only mercenary in Ukraine from Malaysia.

Preliminary investigations found that Lee had sustained an ankle wound by shrapnel from a Russian drone and in the escape, had dropped his MyKad and Malaysian driver’s licence though he is still in possession of his passport.

The Perlis-born lad had studied for his A Levels at a private college in Petaling Jaya and earlier this year dropped out while pursuing his degree at another college in Subang Jaya.

He was said to have signed up as a mercenary online via the Ukraine military website in April after leaving for the United Kingdom in March this year.

Razaruddin said family issues had probably contributed to Lee’s decision apart from the attractive salary and his interest in the military.

Apparently the salary offered could go as high as RM11,800 (USD2,700) a month.

Gun-for-hire

We’re not sure which website Lee visited but a quick Google search led us to the website of the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine.

The first thing we saw as we opened the site? The words: JOIN NOW.

Now how much does this job actually pay? Apparently, if you’re deployed for combat, it can go as high as USD4,800 a month. That’s RM20,974. Pretty lucrative but there’s that risk of being blown to pieces.

You get the standard pay of a Ukrainian soldier and it varies depending on the conditions of the service. Your payment will be in UAH currency to a local bank account. The approximate amount in USD is the following: $550 per/month behind the frontline, $1100 per/month for service in a dangerous zone, and up to $4800 per/month for combat deployment. Please note, that those numbers are just an approximation since exchange rates can change and also some roles and units receive additional bonuses.International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine

As for the requirements to apply, they open to those between 18 and 60 and must not have a criminal record or any chronic ailments.

All candidates must also be physically capable to perform basic infantry tasks and able to enter the Ukraine legally on their own as the legion does not provide assistance with visas and travel arrangements.

It looks like the application is open pretty much to anyone as military or combat experience is not a requirement, just an advantage.

NO, WE’RE NOT SHARING THE LINK TO APPLY HERE.

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