More than a thousand applications have already been submitted to the Ukrainian Legion in Poland – Ambassador

Bondar stated this in an interview with Suspilno.

“In November, the first set of contracts were signed and the first Ukrainian unit was formed. The next recording is planned for January 10. I will not say the number now, as it is kept confidential for the time being at the request of the Ministry of Defense. In total, we have more than a thousand applications, which are currently being considered by the relevant commission. We hope that this number will constantly grow, the ambassador said.

Bodnar also emphasized that the creation of a Ukrainian unit on the territory of Poland is a key element of cooperation and the embodiment of agreements reached at a high level.

“It is a very important element of supporting Ukraine, since many citizens of Ukraine are abroad. Not all of them got abroad in the way that is traditionally characteristic of crossing the border, and some of them would like to return. There is also a corresponding motivation for Ukrainian citizens in other countries, not only in Poland, to join the ranks of the armed forces,” he said.

The Ukrainian Legion in Poland – what is known

On September 9, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported that recruitment to the announced Ukrainian Legion in Poland, in which Ukrainians abroad could be trained, had not yet begun.

We are talking about the legion, the creation of which was announced by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, during the signing of the security agreement with Poland in early July.

On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Radoslaw Sikorski, said that several thousand Ukrainians had already registered for the ranks of the Legion. However, later it became known that “the minister was either misinformed, or it worked “broken phone” and that there was no talk of official registration at that time.

It was previously reported that the creation of a volunteer Ukrainian legion in Poland with the possible participation of foreigners is foreseen by the bilateral agreement on security guarantees signed on July 8. Every citizen of Ukraine who decides to join the ranks of the volunteer legion will be able to sign a contract with the Armed Forces.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that the volunteers will receive modern training from allies from Poland, Lithuania and other EU countries, the legion will be equipped with the best equipment that will increase its effectiveness on the battlefield.

On October 1, the recruiting center of the Ukrainian Legion in Poland opened in the Polish city of Lublin. During the first days of the recruiting center’s operation, 138 applications for interviews were received through the website and another 58 through consular offices.

On November 16, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the first group of volunteers of the Ukrainian Legion in Poland took a military oath.