Ukrainian soldiers in Poland to encourage compatriots to join fight against Russia

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – Soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces arrived in Warsaw Wednesday to encourage compatriots in Europe to join their fight against Russia, local media reported.

They plan to visit eight Polish cities and five countries during their trip across Europe: Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. The first meeting was in Warsaw, while the next one will be in Wroclaw, where several hundred thousand Ukrainians live.

The soldiers claim they cannot force anyone, but they can encourage and educate. “I would like to share my experience. Tell people what it really looks like,” one soldier nicknamed Angel, told gazeta.pl, a Polish news site. “I understand if they help financially. But if someone donated 100 zlotys ($25) to the army once a month and thinks they have redeemed themselves, then no... It's no help,” he added.

The recruitment of volunteers takes three to four weeks, before basic military training begins, which lasts about two months, the soldiers said.

Polish defense minister said in April that Poland would help Ukraine bring back men subject to compulsory military service who had been living in Poland. “Grievances (among Ukrainians) against compatriots leaving the country to avoid being drafted are justified,” Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told broadcaster Polsat. The minister added that many Poles are also “outraged when they see young Ukrainian men in cafes (in Poland) and hear about how much effort it takes us to help Ukraine.”

Ukrainian legislation passed in May stipulates that men aged 18-60 who wish to leave Ukraine or are outside Ukraine will only be able to obtain a Ukrainian passport inside Ukraine.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Poland has become a key destination for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, with about one million Ukrainian refugees in the country, as well as around a million other Ukrainian immigrants from before the war.

According to Eurostat, 4.3 million Ukrainians who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian invasion are living in EU countries, about 860,000 of whom are adult men.​​​​​​​