{
  "id": 8434248,
  "title": "Ukraine Backs Foreign Recruitment Center for National Guard",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/ukraine-backs-foreign-recruitment-center-for-national-guard",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T10:03:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Kyiv Post",
    "slug": "kyiv-post",
    "url": "https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84895"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi has announced the creation of a foreign recruitment center within the National Guard, according to a government statement released on Friday, September 18. This specialized center aims to streamline the process of enlisting foreign volunteers for contract military service, with a focus on accelerating the vetting, training, and deployment of these individuals to bolster frontline combat units under persistent Russian pressure. Koretskyi emphasized the priority of recruiting foreign volunteers to significantly scale up Ukraine's defense forces and strengthen the nation's capacity to defend its state. Since the 2022 Russian invasion, thousands of international volunteers have served in various roles within the Ukrainian Defense Forces, primarily through the International Legion. The new center seeks to formalize the recruitment standards, improve operational vetting procedures, and eliminate administrative delays. Once operational, the center will guide candidates through all necessary steps, including legal documentation, medical evaluations, and specialized combat training, before deploying them to operational brigades. The government stresses that standardizing the recruitment pipeline will also improve integration and coordination between foreign personnel and regular Ukrainian military units, ensuring contractual guarantees, competitive pay, and medical coverage equivalent to domestic service members. This initiative aligns with broader domestic force replenishment and personnel retention programs within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Concurrently, the military is set to conclude its temporary simplified return program for service members who left their units without official leave, scheduled to close on September 20. The program has seen an accelerated voluntary return in late summer, with August 2026 reporting more returns than unauthorized departures. Service members who returned by June 12, 2026, can resume active duty with flexibility in choosing their military branch, duty station, and operational role while retaining standard pay, allowances, and social protections. However, unauthorized departures post-June 12 remain under statutory prosecution, reflecting the Ukrainian government's balanced approach to enforcing military discipline and recovering trained manpower for frontline operations.",
  "summary": "The Ukrainian government approved the creation of a specialized Recruitment Center for Foreigners and Stateless Persons within the National Guard, Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said. The center will oversee the entire intake pipeline – from screening and interviews to training – aiming to expedite the deployment of foreign contract volunteers to combat units.",
  "key_points": [
    "Ukrainian Prime Minister announces foreign recruitment center within National Guard.",
    "Center aims to accelerate vetting, training, and deployment of foreign volunteers.",
    "Initiative aligns with domestic force replenishment and personnel retention programs."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}