Ukraine Wants to Recruit a "Special Volunteer Unit" for the Army

Ukraine wants to incorporate into its army Ukrainian citizens of fighting age who are living in Europe, creating a new unit, the Ukrainian Legion, which will be based in Poland, the country's Defense Minister announced.

"Ukrainians in Poland and other European Union (EU) countries will be able to join the Ukrainian defense by signing a contract with the armed forces," Minister Rustem Umerov said on social media.

It is a "special unit of volunteers that will train on Polish territory" and "will be equipped with the best Western weapons" before being sent to the front in Ukraine, Umerov assured.

"We call on all Ukrainians in Europe to join the Ukrainian Legion," the Ukrainian minister said, without giving details on the number of men he hopes to recruit.

Kyiv, whose army is weakened by heavy losses after two and a half years of the Russian invasion, is trying to bolster its ranks. Ukrainian authorities have already intensified mobilization within the country, in particular thanks to a new law adopted in May.

The Ukrainian Government is now seeking to recruit from among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men living in Europe, especially in Poland and Germany, some of whom have fled the country illegally precisely for fear of being mobilized.

The creation of this unit is provided for in a bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and Poland, signed on Monday in Warsaw by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Warsaw, however, remains extremely cautious in its comments on this matter.

"At this stage, it is too early to talk about the details. The issue is the subject of discussions between the Ministries of Defense of the two countries," the press service of the Polish Ministry of Defense said today.

The Ukrainian army has been suffering from a lack of equipment for months due to delays in Western aid, and rumors are still circulating about the immediate sending of young, untrained and poorly equipped recruits to the front.

Resentment toward mobilization was compounded by corruption scandals in the military, including the entrenched system of paying bribes to avoid mobilization.

Kyiv estimates that 300,000 Ukrainians of fighting age are currently in neighboring Poland.