In response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of volunteers from all over the world traveled to the region to help the embattled country. Kamil, a 28-year-old Polish man living in Ireland traveled to the city of Lviv, Ukraine to assist with humanitarian efforts.
According to Kamil, the Polish Legion is a voluntary organization that has provided Ukraine with medicine, food, and other aid during the crisis. The organization is just one example of the many efforts from Polish people to assist Ukrainian refugees. As the World Health Organization in Europe noted, Poland and many other countries neighboring Ukraine have taken the initiative to offer these types of essential services and support. According to Kamil, his daily activities include coordinating refugee assistance logistics at Lviv’s train station.
“Ukraine needs every help, for everyone that is here. It’s a really brutal war. And what happened here is really terrible, and I think everyone who can is supposed to help these people,” Kamil told the Daily Wire during an in-person interview. He stressed that he believes Ukraine needs medicine above all other humanitarian aid.
According to U.N. estimates, over 2.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries so far, with as many as 2.3M crossing into Poland.
Due to his volunteer position, Kamil has seen many such refugees, but the story of one girl seemed to stand out to him.
“One girl was going from Kyiv [on] her feet. She walked so many kilometers. I’m not sure how many kilometers exactly, but it takes days…Her story of what happened to her home…I’m sorry, it’s very emotional.”
Though he is not from Ukraine, Kamil said he has a deep appreciation for the Ukrainian people and added that being Polish has influenced him to step up and help Ukraine.
“I’m Polish, but we feel the [Ukrainian] people are like our brothers and we must help brothers,” he said.
As Russia’s attacks on Ukraine move closer to Poland’s border — with one particularly deadly airstrike just 15 miles away — and with Putin designating convoys from NATO with military supplies as legitimate targets, the tension has grown. Nevertheless, the Polish volunteers are still not deterred. The Daily Wire reporters on the ground rode with one of the convoys returning to Poland with refugees the morning of the attack, and the volunteers insisted that they had no intention of stopping their mission. They said it was essential they continue delivering aid to help the Ukrainian people defeat Russia.
Despite the increasing Russian bombardment, Kamil praised the Ukrainian positive fighting spirit and said that he believes the war is coming to an end.
“I think in two weeks, everything will be over. Of course, Ukraine will win,” the 28-year-old said. “Because we are strong.”
Kamil then compared the difference in motivations for fighting between the Ukrainians and Russians.
“We fight for family; we fight for our homes, for people. We’re fighting for people, for cities,” he said. “And the Russian people are fighting for the money, and our motivation is life. Life is most important.”
He then criticized calling the situation a war. “They are shooting to the children, that is not war,” he said. “War is when soldier is shooting to soldier. It is not war when someone is shooting to people or child[ren].”
Kamil said that he and the Polish Legion plan to stay in Ukraine to help until the war is over and the country is rebuilt.
Watch the Daily Wire’s exclusive footage from the ground in Ukraine:
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.