Under specific circumstances, Mozart’s group, one of the most famous, broke up. US military volunteer units in Ukraineunder the weight of financial scandals and alcohol abuse.

The problems of the Mozart group and its founder, retired Marine Colonel Andrew Milburn, testify to the state of foreign volunteer units in Ukraine. “I have seen the same thing happen many times. These groups should operate like a business. We didn’t,” says the veteran coach of the group. Thousands of foreign volunteers visited the battlefields of Ukraine. Many of them, like Milburn and his team, spent their entire lives in wartime never feeling the need to follow the rules.

OUR mozart group he thrived early in the war, training Ukrainian soldiers, removing civilians from the front lines, and raising a million dollars to fund his missions. However, funds quickly dried up.

Layoffs and treatment

After months of financial difficulties, Mozart faced a wave of defections, infighting, a break-in of his headquarters, and a lawsuit against Milburn by CFO and band co-founder Andrew Bain. In his lawsuit in Wyoming, where the Mozart group is based, Bain accuses Milburn of making disparaging remarks about the Ukrainian political leadership “while intoxicated,” as well as damage caused by his dog when Milburn was staying at a friend’s apartment in Kyiv, among other things. ., but also for embezzlement of corporate resources and other financial crimes. “I admit that I am not perfect. None of us,” Milburn said, insisting that the allegations of financial wrongdoing are false.

The 59-year-old Milburn’s career has taken him to every front in the war on terrorism, from Somalia to Iraq, and along the way he’s made connections at the highest levels at the Pentagon. Bain, 58, himself a retired Marine Corps colonel, has been the group’s organizer and trustee since 2014 for a charity fundraising for the Ukrainian military. Together they founded the Mozart Group. However, their different personalities led them to split. “For the first half hour, he is the cutest person in the world. However, in the 31st minute, you understand that something is wrong, ”Bain explains about Milburn.

For his part, Milburn, while emphasizing that he does not wish to criticize Bain, emphasizes that “the evidence speaks for itself, the proof of his quality is what he did and the lawsuit he filed.”

Last summer, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine agreed with Mozart on the training of soldiers. However, the Ukrainians were unable to raise the funds to pay, leaving the Mozart Group dependent on an increasingly narrow circle of donors. Bain’s financial management was considered opaque by many within the group. Meanwhile, Milburn has rented new offices in Kyiv and promises to revive his business.