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Polish Man Jerzy Tys, Who Restored Soviet Monuments, Dies Fighting for Putin in Ukraine
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Jerzy Tys, a Polish citizen who headed an organization dedicated to restoring Soviet monuments in Poland, has been killed while serving with Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
According to RMF24 on September 22, the authorities of Russia’s Kursk region confirmed his death. Tys had been living in Russia in recent years and eventually joined the Russian army under the call sign “Zygmunt.”
Tys led the memorial society “Kursk,” which focused on restoring monuments to Soviet soldiers in Poland. In May 2020, he was awarded the medal “In Memory of the Heroes of the Fatherland” by then–Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The award was given for what Russian officials described as “achievements in the development of military history and humanitarian knowledge, as well as for implementing significant historical and patriotic public projects.”
Polish media note that during this period, Tys frequently appeared in Russian state media criticizing the Polish government. RMF24 reported that he was even received by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, an event broadcast on Russian television.
Russian outlets describe Tys as having voluntarily joined the Russian military in spring 2025. Before his military involvement, he had spent a decade working on the restoration of Soviet memorials in both Poland and Russia.
In a 2023 interview with a Russian news portal, Tys said he had graduated from a military school but left the Polish army in 1989 as political changes unfolded in the country.
He later served in the police but eventually turned to what he called a campaign against the “falsification of history” and the “destruction of monuments.” He also expressed his belief in the “return of Polish-Russian friendship.”
Tys was believed to have gone missing in the summer of 2025, and only recently were his relatives notified by a morgue in Rostov that he had been killed at the front. Russian reports indicate that he will be buried in Khimki, near Moscow.
Earlier, Michael Gloss, a 21-year-old American citizen and the son of a CIA Deputy Director, was killed while serving in Russia’s army near Soledar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Gloss had joined the Russian military under the alias Hamza Ali after traveling through Turkey and enrolling at the Avangard training center.
He reportedly entered Russia in 2023 to attend a Rainbow Family gathering and later became part of a foreign volunteer unit. His family was informed of his death by Russian authorities in April 2024.
