United to win: Poland’s Ukrainian Legion volunteers sign first contract to join Ukraine’s armed forces

In Poland, the first group of volunteers from the Ukrainian Legion has already signed contracts with Ukraine's armed forces.

According to Ukrinform, the contract signing occurred in the recruiting center, which was set up at the Consulate General of Ukraine in Lublin.

Following the procedure, the head of the recruitment center had each volunteer sign the contract after they had read it beforehand.

^{Photo: Ukrinform}

"I welcome you to Ukraine's armed forces," the head of the recruiting center said after signing the contracts.

Petro Horkusha, a representative of the recruiting center, noted at a media briefing that, as of today, more than 600 people have applied to join the Ukrainian Legion.

For reference:

On July 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk signed a joint security agreement. They have also agreed for Kyiv and Warsaw to cooperate in training Security and Defense Forces personnel. Additionally, they have decided to create a unit of Ukrainian volunteer fighters in Poland.

The country's leader announced that the Ukrainian Legion will undergo training in Poland and be equipped by partners. Any Ukrainian citizen joining the legion can sign a contract with Ukraine's armed forces. Currently, both sides are finalizing the details of these agreements.

On October 3, the first recruiting center for volunteer citizens of Ukraine for the Armed Forces was opened based on the Consulate of Ukraine in Lublin, Poland. In the first days, 138 applications for interviews were received through the website and another 58 through consular offices.

The Ukrainian Legion recruiting center is located in Poland. It operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the base of the Ukrainian consulate in Lublin, Spokojna, 2. The center's phone number is +38(093)806-20-68.

Volunteers can also submit an application on the official website of the Ukrainian Legion or through consulates and embassies.

The first unit of the Ukrainian Legion will start training at one of the training grounds in Poland by the end of this year.

As reported in the recruiting center, the first volunteers will soon be sent to one of the training grounds in Poland for further training. The contract can be signed either for a fixed period (three years) or until the end of a particular period.

The training will not take place on the basis of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade (LitPolUkrbryg), as previously reported by some mass media. Instead, it will be conducted by instructors from NATO countries at designated locations. After that, service members needing separate training in the chosen specialization can undergo additional training on other grounds.