First unit of Ukrainian Legion recruited and trained in Poland sent to Ukraine

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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.

The first unit of the Ukrainian Legion – a volunteer force of Ukrainians living abroad that is being recruited and trained in Poland – has been sent to Ukraine, says the Ukrainian ambassador.

The idea to create the legion was formally announced in July, when the two countries signed a bilateral security agreement. Recruitment for the new force began in October in the Polish city of Lublin.

In November, the first group of volunteers took their oath, after which they began an intensive training course in Poland under the guidance of Polish instructors. This week, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, told Radio Svoboda that the first unit has now left for Ukraine, where their training will continue.

Bodnar said that the development shows that the legion is a “success story”, despite “some politicians or Russian propaganda trying to turn it into a negative”. In October, Poland’s defence minister claimed that too few volunteers were signing up for the force.

Speaking this week, Bodnar admitted that, “of course, we would like the process to go faster, but it is what it is”. He added that Ukraine is “working to make information [about the legion] publicly available in all EU countries, and possibly overseas”.

“I am convinced that our citizens who sign up for it will have the appropriate satisfaction from good training,” said the ambassador, who did not reveal how many volunteers are among the first unit now being transferred to Ukraine.

Bodnar did, however, reveal that over 1,000 people in total have signed up for the legion, reports Polish news website Interia. He said that the next group of volunteers will sign contracts with Ukraine’s armed forces on 10 January before beginning their training in Poland.

In November, the recruitment centre for the legion revealed that the largest number of applications have come from Ukrainians living in Poland and the Czech Republic.

In total, Ukrainians from 30 countries have expressed interest, including places as far afield as the UK, Canada and US. Around 90% of volunteers are men and 10% women.

The Polish authorities have not commented on Bodnar’s announcement that the first unit of the legion has been transferred to Ukraine.

Poland is home to one of the largest Ukrainian communities outside Ukraine itself. Almost one million Ukrainian refugees live there as well as hundreds of thousands of economic migrants and students.

Poland has been one of Ukraine’s closest allies since Russia’s full-scale invasion, providing humanitarian, military and diplomatic support. During a visit to Ukraine last week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on the West to provide greater support to Kyiv.

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/Flickr (under public domain)

Daniel Tilles

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.