Legal Safeguards for the Volunteers of Ukraine’s Cyber Militia

[Extract] What is the legal status of foreigners who enlist in Ukraine’s volunteer cyber militia? The Putin regime’s brutal invasion of Ukraine means that getting clarity on this question is a matter of urgency. However, more broadly, this is a question that will remain important for future conflicts if we do not properly engage with it now.

A cyber militia, including one with foreign participants, can be a powerful tool for national defence. Countries do well to consider both their position on what they allow their citizens to do, and to consider how they can lawfully integrate a cyber militia into their own defence structures.