Poland says too few Ukrainians interested in joining Ukrainian Legion
Pravda Ukraine
Polish National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has reported that the number of Ukrainians who have volunteered for the Ukrainian Legion in Poland was extremely low.
Source: Polish online news outlet Wirtualna Polska; European Pravda
Details: The establishment of the Ukrainian Legion was outlined in the bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and Poland. The Ukrainian Legion in Poland was intended to be trained, armed, and prepared to defend Ukraine, with the Polish military overseeing training and Kyiv responsible for recruitment.
“We have prepared for this. It was within the framework of the agreement signed between Poland and Ukraine,” Kosiniak-Kamysz stated, stressing that “we are ready to train Ukrainian soldiers”.
The minister highlighted that Poland has trained approximately 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers who have been deployed to the war zone in Ukraine.
“We are not responsible for recruitment. However, the number of people who were supposed to volunteer on the Ukrainian side is too small. These declarations were very high at the beginning, even suggesting that one brigade, i.e. several thousand people, could be formed. However, this did not happen,” Kosiniak-Kamysz explained.
Background:
- On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that several thousand Ukrainians had registered to join the Legion.
- But later, in September, media reports indicated that the Ukrainian Legion was still “an idea on paper”.
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