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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Polish lawmakers have approved granting legal amnesty to Poles who have taken up arms in defence of Ukraine. Normally, serving in a foreign military without consent from the Polish authorities is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
On Friday, the proposed new “law on the non-punishment of volunteers defending the freedom and independence of Ukraine” was supported almost unanimously by the Sejm, the more powerful lower house of parliament. Only the far-right did not vote in favour.
Polish volunteers fighting for Ukraine “deserve praise, not the threat of punishment,” declared one of the originators of the bill, Małgorzata Tracz, in the Sejm.
📢 Tym osobom należy się dziś CHWAŁA, a nie groźba kary! 🇵🇱🇺🇦
🛡️ Obywatele wielu państw, w tym z Polski, wstąpili w szeregi 🇺🇦 obrońców, by stawić czoła 🇷🇺 najeźdźcy. By bronić wolności, demokracji i bezpieczeństwa nie tylko Ukrainy, ale całej Europy, w szczególności Polski. O… pic.twitter.com/eAMyJKdXua
— Małgorzata Tracz (@GoTracz) February 12, 2026
The bill, which was first proposed by MPs from the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), Poland’s main ruling party, in December 2024, would provide immunity for Poles who have joined the Ukrainian armed forces.
The initial bill was intended to cover those who have served since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, the latest version covers the period from April 2014, when Russian-backed separatists began the war in Donbas against the Ukrainian government.
Polish citizens or foreigners residing in Poland who have served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine during that period would be granted immunity from prosecution on the condition that they notify the defence ministry upon their return to Poland.
Those who have already been sentenced for fighting in Ukraine’s armed forces are also granted an amnesty. It is not known how many such convictions have been issued, as no such statistics are kept, notes news service WNP.
The authors of the bill argue that, “in the existing international context, the participation of a Polish citizen in Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression cannot be perceived as a violation of the constitutional obligations of loyalty to Poland, concern for the common good, or obligation to defend the homeland”.
Work on the bill involved a rare degree of bipartisanship among Poland’s often deeply divided political parties. That was reflected in the vote in the Sejm, where the bill was supported by both the ruling coalition – which stretches from left to centre right – and the main national-conservative opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS).
However, all MPs present from the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) group abstained from voting, while all three lawmakers from the radical-right Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP) party led by Grzegorz Braun voted against the bill. Both those groups are critical of Ukraine.
Zero złudzeń❗️Konfederacja Brauna chce karać polskich ochotników walczących z rosyjską agresją. Konfederacja „wstrzymuje się” – czyli de facto daje na to przyzwolenie.
Chcą karać tych, którzy stanęli przeciw Kremlowi. Tyle warte ich hasła o patriotyzmie. pic.twitter.com/teV3eW14bc
— Paweł Bliźniuk (@PawelBlizniuk) February 13, 2026
The bill now moves to the upper-house Senate, which can delay legislation and suggest amendments, but cannot block it.
Once approved by parliament, it would then pass to President Karol Nawrocki, who can sign it into law, veto it, or send it to the constitutional court for assessment.
Nawrocki has not publicly taken a position on the bill. He was elected to the presidency last year with the support of PiS but also enjoys good relations with Confederation, and has sometimes taken a tougher line on Ukraine than PiS. However, the president is also clear that Ukraine must be supported against Russia.
"I am against Ukraine's entry to the EU at the moment," says @NawrockiKn in his first foreign interview since becoming Poland's president-elect.
But he emphasised that Poland "must support Ukraine" because "Russia is the biggest threat to the region" https://t.co/MWhxPsze0w
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 9, 2025
Andrzej Podgórski, spokesman for the so-called Polish Legion, an organisation of Polish volunteers fighting for Ukraine, says that its members have been pushing for such a law for a long time.
“Many of these volunteers who are fighting for Ukraine, besides the daily challenges of just surviving from day to day, also have this worry about what will happen when I return home,” he said, quoted by news website Gazeta.pl. “It’s important to provide them with this psychological peace of mind.”
There are no precise data on how many Poles have fought in Ukraine, but Gazeta.pl cites estimates that the proposed law would benefit several hundred people.
Poland has issued an arrest warrant for a former Polish soldier accused of joining the Russian army and spreading disinformation on behalf of Russian intelligence, including through videos on TikTok, where he runs an account called "Pole in Donbas" https://t.co/HryZY2qy09
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 29, 2026
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: President of Ukraine/Wikimedia Commons (under public domain)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
