Berliner Boersenzeitung - 'I had to gather my strength': Ukrainians abroad sign up to fight

EUR -
AED 3.8756
AFN 72.200575
ALL 98.139539
AMD 411.532283
ANG 1.916419
AOA 962.319203
ARS 1053.188708
AUD 1.630218
AWG 1.899315
AZN 1.784231
BAM 1.955003
BBD 2.146925
BDT 127.068214
BGN 1.956891
BHD 0.397718
BIF 3140.020304
BMD 1.055175
BND 1.421121
BOB 7.348005
BRL 6.129194
BSD 1.063362
BTN 89.676253
BWP 14.428257
BYN 3.479882
BYR 20681.429409
BZD 2.143327
CAD 1.478495
CDF 3023.076626
CHF 0.936043
CLF 0.037472
CLP 1033.976525
CNY 7.638303
CNH 7.648689
COP 4726.12869
CRC 542.978712
CUC 1.055175
CUP 27.962137
CVE 110.22008
CZK 25.288011
DJF 189.351934
DKK 7.458214
DOP 64.043899
DZD 141.622416
EGP 52.009895
ERN 15.827625
ETB 129.779309
FJD 2.40258
FKP 0.83167
GBP 0.831235
GEL 2.880458
GGP 0.83167
GHS 17.173001
GIP 0.83167
GMD 74.917819
GNF 9164.265159
GTQ 8.216651
GYD 222.469334
HKD 8.212268
HNL 26.846059
HRK 7.526869
HTG 139.81302
HUF 408.163026
IDR 16774.7496
ILS 3.959224
IMP 0.83167
INR 89.068533
IQD 1392.932319
IRR 44414.948032
ISK 147.313122
JEP 0.83167
JMD 168.341393
JOD 0.748221
JPY 164.500191
KES 136.329796
KGS 90.952195
KHR 4308.244201
KMF 492.080753
KPW 949.658078
KRW 1481.418127
KWD 0.324772
KYD 0.886139
KZT 524.106404
LAK 23352.482837
LBP 95221.093219
LKR 310.793338
LRD 200.438313
LSL 19.102015
LTL 3.115657
LVL 0.638265
LYD 5.151876
MAD 10.572991
MDL 19.161191
MGA 4961.977776
MKD 61.584316
MMK 3427.167142
MNT 3585.4848
MOP 8.519528
MRU 42.330748
MUR 50.047248
MVR 16.302766
MWK 1843.848551
MXN 21.712439
MYR 4.735102
MZN 67.423993
NAD 19.102015
NGN 1777.041223
NIO 39.134051
NOK 11.764987
NPR 143.481165
NZD 1.799094
OMR 0.406253
PAB 1.063367
PEN 4.030158
PGK 4.274258
PHP 62.064863
PKR 295.443194
PLN 4.34422
PYG 8298.578641
QAR 3.87682
RON 4.97705
RSD 116.980897
RUB 103.919035
RWF 1459.505187
SAR 3.964662
SBD 8.846117
SCR 14.382386
SDG 634.688134
SEK 11.596378
SGD 1.419896
SHP 0.83167
SLE 24.073878
SLL 22126.461188
SOS 607.652355
SRD 37.226828
STD 21839.991486
SVC 9.304208
SYP 2651.158922
SZL 19.108032
THB 36.972803
TJS 11.329783
TMT 3.703664
TND 3.346836
TOP 2.471323
TRY 36.237853
TTD 7.226055
TWD 34.365466
TZS 2801.489873
UAH 43.929697
UGX 3902.409597
USD 1.055175
UYU 44.831729
UZS 13603.455994
VES 47.479192
VND 26796.168359
VUV 125.272516
WST 2.950778
XAF 655.689778
XAG 0.035082
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.851663
XDR 0.801074
XOF 655.686672
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.580476
ZAR 19.275884
ZMK 9497.834156
ZMW 29.087146
ZWL 339.76591
  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • RBGPF

    59.2500

    59.25

    +100%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0400

    7.07

    -0.57%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

'I had to gather my strength': Ukrainians abroad sign up to fight
'I had to gather my strength': Ukrainians abroad sign up to fight / Photo: Wojtek RADWANSKI - AFP

'I had to gather my strength': Ukrainians abroad sign up to fight

The ceremony is short: a man walks up to a desk and signs a few papers before a serviceman in army fatigues shakes his hand and welcomes him into the Ukrainian armed forces.

Text size:

"Glory to Ukraine," said Igor Rusakevych as he signed up as a volunteer Tuesday with the Ukrainian Legion that Kyiv has created for its nationals living abroad.

Ukraine has been struggling to bolster its ranks after nearly three years of Russia's invasion and the legion is its latest push to convince men of combat age to enlist.

Its recruitment office, opened last month in the Polish city of Lublin, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Ukrainian border, has received about 700 applications so far.

"I had to finish some things. I have a family here, a good job. I had to gather my strength," Rusakevych said, explaining why he had not joined the army earlier.

The 37-year-old construction manager has lived in Poland for more than 30 years, has a teenage son and a Polish wife.

"I feel like a Pole, but I am a Ukrainian at heart," he said.

"I watch the news every day. I see that we are losing."

Russian forces are advancing steadily in eastern Ukraine and have intensified their assault on the southern front, as well as keeping up barrages of drone and missile attacks on cities across Ukraine.

- 'To redeem myself' -

The Ukrainian defence ministry said the first group of volunteers who signed contracts in Lublin had immediately gone for basic military training lasting about a month.

As the legion was established as part of a wider security agreement between Warsaw and Kyiv, Poland hosts initial training before the new soldiers are sent to continue at NATO bases in Europe.

Another volunteer, 20-year-old Dmytro Zdorik, who previously lived in Lithuania, said he had felt "drawn to" the army since childhood.

He said he found out about the legion from his grandfather, himself a former military man.

"He sent me a video. And I thought, here it is -- a chance to quickly join the army," Zdorik said.

An estimated 300,000 Ukrainian men of fighting age are believed to be living in neighbouring Poland alone.

Through its online advertising, Ukraine aims to reach out to its nationals residing across Europe.

Yuriy Kulius, a former prisoner, said he had spent two years in Germany before deciding to enlist in the legion -- a move that he had been mulling "for a long time".

"I just want to redeem myself... I am tired of the stigma of a criminal record," the 45-year-old said.

"The main thing is... to be useful," said Kulius.

He said he had shared the news about joining the military with his mother, who still lives in Ukraine.

"She said I was an idiot," the man recalled, before adding with a chuckle: "Well, I don't search for an easy way in my life."

(G.Gruner--BBZ)