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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.
President Karol Nawrocki has signed into law a bill granting legal amnesty to Poles who have taken up arms in defence of Ukraine. Normally, under Polish law, serving in a foreign military without official consent is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
The legislation provides immunity for Poles who joined the Ukrainian armed forces between April 2014, when Russian-backed separatists began the war in Donbas against the Ukrainian government, until the law enters into force, which will happen three months after its publication.
Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej Karol Nawrocki podpisał 5 ustaw:
✔️ustawę z dnia 27 lutego 2026 r. o zmianie ustawy o zmianie ustawy o szczególnych rozwiązaniach związanych z usuwaniem skutków powodzi oraz niektórych innych ustaw oraz ustawy – Prawo wodne (nr druku…
— Rafał Leśkiewicz (@LeskiewiczRafa) March 27, 2026
The new regulations were first proposed in December 2024 by MPs from the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), Poland’s main ruling party, and received rare bipartisan support.
Last month, both the KO-led ruling coalition and the main opposition party, the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), which is aligned with Nawrocki, voted in favour of the bill.
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.
The new rules require Polish citizens or foreigners residing in Poland who have served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine to submit a written statement to the Polish defence ministry specifying the dates and places of their enlistment and discharge 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”.
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.
He says over 1,000 people have signed up for the legion so far https://t.co/0a16ScBNqF
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 27, 2024
Andrzej Podgórski, spokesman for the so-called Polish Legion, an organisation of Polish volunteers fighting for Ukraine, said last month 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 it is estimated that hundreds may have done so. There have also been 23 confirmed deaths of Poles serving in Ukraine, notes Polish military news service MilMag.
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, providing diplomatic, humanitarian and military support to its eastern neighbour.
The Polish government is sending 379 power generators to Ukraine, where Russian attacks have left many without heat and power
The city of Warsaw is providing an additional 90 generators, while a public appeal has raised €1.6 million to buy more equipment https://t.co/DzFlZ1bXe7
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 24, 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.
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
