Missing 18-year-old from Poland found in Ukraine: He became volunteer fighter in AFU
In mid-March 2025, an 18-year-old from Poland, Wojciech Antoni, was declared missing after he was supposed to travel to Warsaw. Half a year later, it turned out that the young man had volunteered to join the Ukrainian army.
Polish outlet Onet reported this, Censor.NET notes.
News of Antoni’s disappearance first appeared in Polish media. His family already suspected that he might have gone to Lithuania or Ukraine, as suggested by his last messages.
After several days of searching, Poznań police announced they had found him but provided no details. However, on September 11, he appeared in a video released by the Foreign Recruitment Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"My name is Wojciech Antoni, I’m from Poland, from Poznań. […] For Poland, it is very important that Ukraine fights the Russians, because we are next in line on the frontline," the young man said in English, dressed in military uniform.
He explained that six months earlier, he had come to Ukraine and joined the 25th Air Assault Brigade to "save people, defend them from Russian occupiers, fight against the Russian invasion, and fight for Europe."
At the end of the video, Wojciech addressed his fellow citizens in Polish: "Brothers and sisters from Poland! The war is closer than it seems. Help. Be ready to defend your homeland. Glory to Ukraine. Poland has not yet perished."
