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
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.