Defense - Poland: Ukrainian refugees register for military unit
Several thousand Ukrainians living in Poland have reportedly signed up for a planned volunteer brigade, according to the Polish government in Warsaw. "Many of them really want to serve and make something for their compatriots at the front, but they say: We don't want to be sent to the battlefield without proper training and equipment," said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. Poland will train and equip the volunteers before they are deployed in Ukraine. They will have the right to return to Poland after their rotation from the front, Sikorski stressed. "If every European country did the same, Ukraine would have several brigades."
The planned training of an "Ukrainian legion" in Poland is part of a security agreement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk signed on Monday.
Poland, an EU and NATO member, is one of the most active political and military supporters of the Russia-attacked Ukraine. In addition, Poland has taken in nearly a million refugees from its neighboring country. In Ukraine, the mobilization of new forces for the army is bringing results only slowly, while the troops in action are being depleted and exhausted.
- Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister, expressed concern about sending volunteers without adequate training and equipment, stating, "Many of them really want to serve and make something for their compatriots at the front, but they say: We don't want to be sent to the battlefield without proper training and equipment."
- The training of the "Ukrainian legion" is funded by the United States of America, with a substantial contribution of $25 million announced by President Joe Biden during the NATO summit in Washington.
- Despite the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, a Military unit from Russia has been observed moving troops to the Ukrainian border, causing concern among NATO allies, particularly Poland.
- In a show of solidarity, the prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, recently visited a camp hosting Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, expressing his gratitude for their resilience and welcoming more refugees who may need shelter.
- The political and military support from Poland towards Ukraine has not gone unnoticed, as the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Poland's leadership in helping Ukraine defend against the ongoing War with Russia.
