X-Captive Nations Brigade – 3 Swords – is Step in Right Direction

With Russian saber-rattling intensifying daily, I have opined on numerous occasions about the necessity for the former captive nations of Moscow’s brutal prison of nations to form multilateral alliances to defend against Russian aggression.

Scroll through my blogposts and you’ll see my commentaries about strong political, cultural and economic blocs that would build the former captive nations’ stature in the global community as well as raise a barricade against Russian encroachment.

I have even suggested that these now independent nations should form coalitions regarding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals inside the hallowed halls of the United Nations.

Any occasion that would allow the x-captive nations to advocate their independence and sovereignty while pointing out the ongoing danger presented by Russia should be encouraged.

Such a pact existed among the captive nations during World War II in order to fight Soviet Russian aggression.

The Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN) was a coordinating center for anti-Communist émigré political organizations from Soviet and other socialist countries. The ABN attributes its existence and its ideological foundations to an underground conference of representatives of non-Russian peoples that took place on November 21-22, 1943, near Zhytomyr, Ukraine, on the initiative of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The attendees adopted a platform of joint revolutionary struggle against Russian communism. The goal of the ABN was the dissolution of the Soviet Union into national states. Given an organizational structure in Munich in 1946, the ABN extended its scope of activity to include the Eastern European emigration.

The following organizations were members of the ABN from its inception or for varying periods of time: “Free Armenia” Committee, Bulgarian National Front, Belorussian Central Council, Cossack National Liberation Movement, Croatian National Liberation Movement, Czech Movement for Freedom (Za Svobodu), Czech National Committee, Estonian Liberation Movement, Union of the Estonian Fighters for Freedom, Georgian National Organization, Hungarian Liberation Movement, Hungarian Mindszenty Movement, Latvian Association for the Struggle against Communism, Lithuanian Rebirth Movement, Slovak Liberation Committee, National Turkestanian Unity Committee, United Hetman Organization, and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Bandera faction).

In recent years, government officials from Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and others have regularly warned against Russian revanchism and called for increased military preparedness on the part of the x-captive nations. They used the example of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as justification for their concerns. They have also urged the United States and other free world leaders not to give in to Russian propaganda but rather to increase sanctions against Moscow for its global crimes.

Now it seems that at least three x-captive nations, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, have transformed an idea into practice with the mobilization of the “Hetman Konstantyn Ostrohskiy” Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade (LITPOLUKR) – https://litpolukrbrig.wp.mil.pl/en/

According to military media and the brigade’s website, this unit represents a new era of multilateral security cooperation in Europe. Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian efforts to bolster European stability in the wake of Russia’s destabilizing invasion of Ukraine led to the creation of the unit in 2015.

The brigade’s website notes that each participating country contributes an infantry battalion, staff for the headquarters in Lublin, and specialized smaller units, to create a brigade between 3.5-4,000 soldiers. Leadership switches on a rotational basis. Officers and NCOs in the brigade primarily use English to communicate, though Ukrainian and Lithuanian participants also develop some proficiency in Polish given the headquarters’ location. Units in the brigade are maintained by and use equipment provided by their respective armed forces, though units in the brigade have recently started to train using Polish equipment. The brigade’s costs are shared among all three states, though the host nation Poland provides the largest contribution.

The brigade’s main task is to serve as a peacekeeping force to be deployed with the unanimous consent of all participating states. However, the brigade is also intended to bolster regional military cooperation. The brigade has focused heavily on improving joint operational capacity and standardizing procedures and practices through joint training. It is also engaged in a public relations campaign to build close relations between Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland.

The work of this joint military unit should reinforce in the minds of global leaders the comprehensive concept of what was a captive nation in Russia’s dungeon and what is a former captive nation, now independent state. It is important for military leaders to know that they have a trusted, well trained and battle-hardened

ally in this brigade as the free world seeks to stem Russia’s aggression. They should also take note that if for any reason the free world fails to support the x-captive nations, they will then do so on their own.

Indeed, as Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania take concrete actions to defend their nations, sovereignty and independence, they are also “United for Peace” as the brigade's motto states.