SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Poland will not 'protect' Ukrainian draft dodgers: minister
Warsaw, April 30 (AFP) Apr 30, 2024
Poland will not "protect" Ukrainian draft dodgers on its soil, a deputy foreign minister said Tuesday, as authorities in Warsaw called for EU action on the matter.

Ukraine is scrambling to recruit troops after more than two years of war against Russia and has recently passed a mobilisation law, lowering the fighting age and toughening penalties for draft dodgers.

Last week it said it would stop issuing new passports abroad to some military-aged men and suspended consular services for men aged 18 to 60 living abroad, sparking fury among expatriates in Poland and elsewhere.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian men of military age are in Poland, according to UN figures.

"We definitely won't protect draft dodgers," a Polish deputy foreign minister Andrzej Szejna told the TVP state television channel.

He added that Warsaw had not received any formal request from Ukraine about military-aged men however.

"When Ukraine turns to Poland with a request, we will act in accordance with Polish and European law," Szejna said.

Last week, defence ministers from Poland and Lithuania, Ukraine's staunch allies, said they could help return military aged men back to their war-torn country.

"Everything is possible," Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told Polsat television when asked if Warsaw would agree if Ukraine asked for help.

On Tuesday, he called for "European solutions" on the matter.

"I know that talks between Kyiv and Brussels on this topic are ongoing," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that acting "at the European level will ensure full effectiveness".

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fled the war, with most passing through Poland.

As of February this year, 952,104 Ukrainian refugees were registered in Poland, of whom about 150,000 people, were of military age, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Voyager raises over 400 million in public debut to fuel growth and innovation
Kinetica 2 engine test hits milestone with successful multi-engine trial
Conservation leaders join passenger lineup for Blue Origin NS-33 suborbital launch

24/7 Energy News Coverage
AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments
Decarbonizing steel is as tough as steel
Molecular relay structure enables faster photon upconversion for solar and medical use

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
World faces new arms race as nuclear powers spend 100B a year
Australia says China anxiety, geography driving closer Indonesia ties
Iran's nuclear programme, Netanyahu's age-old obsession

24/7 News Coverage
Ancient climate shifts reveal warning signs for modern drought risks
Space lasers, AI used by geospatial scientist to measure forest biomass
Tiny organisms, huge implications for people



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.