Up to five years in prison can threaten Poles who go to serve in foreign legions without the necessary consent from the Ministry of Defense. The Poles adjoining the Armed Forces of Ukraine should take this into account, but it is not clear whether such a punishment actually threatens them, writes the daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita.
According to the publication, the fact that Polish citizens are in the “Foreign (International) Legion” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not a secret to anyone. Information about the death of Poles in Ukraine systematically appears in the media. Most of them join the Armed Forces of Ukraine without the permission of the Polish authorities, which is required since April this year.
According to the agency, as of the end of October, 34 applications for permission to serve in a foreign army had been submitted, 25 of them related to service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two eventually received permission, and another 14 were issued by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, “the number of Poles in Ukraine could be in the tens, if not hundreds,” Miroslav Cech, a former MP, told the newspaper.
The Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland, Wojciech, “quite clearly” made it clear that the Poles, apparently, would not be punished for breaking the law, the newspaper notes.
“The question of the exclusion of criminal liability <…> and the assessment of the legality of punishment for the participation of Polish citizens in actions taken to protect Ukraine is derived from the decision whether the assumption of duties by a Polish citizen in the Armed Forces of Ukraine or another military formation of Ukraine violates the interests of Poland or corresponds international rules and international politics of our country and what impact this will have on the tasks performed by the Polish Armed Forces,” said Skurkiewicz.
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