Earlier this week, Polsat News reported that two Poles of the International Legion lost their lives on the front in Ukraine. Janusz “Kozak” Szeremeta and his colleague, Krzysztof Tyfel, fought on the side of Ukraine against the Russian invader. 

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1599870253831712768?s=20&t=6uyYqi47hpdpocGCfy4sfg

Janusz „Kozak” Szeremeta was a platoon leader in the International Legion who managed a group of about 30 volunteer fighters joined by foreigners who wanted to fight for Ukraine in the war against Russia. In the past months, Szeremeta’s publications on social media gained rising popularity online. 

Janusz Szeremeta, ps. „Kozak”
R.I.P. pic.twitter.com/XwvzwQzYD7

— Jakub Seraczyn (@seraczyn) December 5, 2022

The tragedy of the two Poles deceased on the front is not the first such occurrence. In early December, a 33-year-old soldier of Polish descent, Wiacheslav Kaurkin, was killed on Ukrainian soil, the Zhitomir Regional Union of Poles in Ukraine reported at the time. He was a citizen of Ukraine who lived in Poland and, upon hearing of the war, returned to his country to repel Russian forces. 

In November, a Ukrainian citizen of Polish origin named Marian Matusz, who lived in Mostyska in the Lviv region in the west of the country, also died in the war opposing Kyiv to Moscow. 

Back in July, it’s Polish MMA fighter Tomasz Walentek, a Polish amateur MMA (mixed martial arts) competitor, was killed in the midst of his contribution to the war effort alongside Ukrainian forces. 

At the moment of writing, the Twitter page Visegrad24 reported that another Polish soldier and member of an elite reconnaissance unit, Daniel Sztybler, was killed in battle against the Russian Army in late November. The information remains to be officially confirmed. 

In the meantime, volunteers from other countries as well continue to perish in Ukraine. For example, at least 34 Georgian volunteer soldiers have been killed on the Ukrainian front since March. 

Image: Twitter (@fellaforukraine)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

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