The Swiss man risking his life as a mercenary in the Ukraine war

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When Russia attacked Ukraine, aspiring teacher Jona Neidhart travelled to fight for the people of Ukraine. If he survives the war, he will go to prison in Switzerland.

Neidhart was attending teacher training college in Switzerland when the war began. From that moment on, he could no longer concentrate and decided to take action. He wrote his will, quit his job and travelled to Ukraine to help the country during the war.

The Blick newspaper met Neidhart in Donbass. The 36-year-old had no connection to Ukraine before the war. He grew up in Zurich and attended the Rämibühl high school. His dislike of Russians is also linked to his own background, as the Russians killed his Polish grandfather during the Second World War. “I couldn’t sit still. I had to act,” he says.

Neidhart is not the only Swiss fighting for the Ukrainian military forces, but he is the only one who agreed to forgo his anonymity for an article. 

His military service is illegal under Swiss law and he faces several years in prison. But it’s worth it to him. “I will suffer with these people and, if necessary, perish with them,” he says. If he survives, he will face justice in Switzerland. “But morally, there is no alternative to my actions. None!”

When he arrived in Ukraine in March, he was accepted into the army’s 1st Infantry Battalion. Neidhart has no combat experience, but with his experience from the Scouts and in the Grenadiers during compulsory Swiss military training, he is someone who knows how to handle himself and heavy war materiel.

Jona Neidhart Jona Neidhart

Four days after his recruitment, he barely survived a rocket attack. But what prompted other mercenaries to leave only strengthened Neidhart’s resolve. He wants to help the people in Ukraine.

As a man of faith, he sees this as his duty. Neidhart is a Mormon and has travelled extensively to defend his beliefs abroad. Now he does this with weapons and at the risk of his life. Every Sunday he conducts a small church service, and a badge on his uniform reads “Deus vult” (God wills it).

In addition to his faith, he is driven by thoughts of the old Swiss Confederates and sees himself in the tradition of the Swiss mercenaries. And he is critical of his home country’s stance on the war: “heavy weapons and vehicles are needed,” he says. “Switzerland could supply the material that Ukraine so desperately needs for victory – if only it wanted to.”

But there is no time for diplomacy. “The only language the Russians understand is an iron fist. You have to smack them in the head and show them that this won’t work.”