Polish Minister of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak announced that men in the country who are in the country and within the scope of mobilization in Ukraine will not be caught and forcibly sent back. Stating that the Warsaw administration can evaluate various measures to encourage Ukrainians to return to their countries, Siemoniak emphasized that the process is against the execution of force.
Polish Minister of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak, in a statement on the broadcast of Radio Zet, said that Ukrainian citizens in Poland and mobilizing in Ukraine will not be detained and will not be forcibly sent to Ukraine.
Siemoniak stated that the Polish Ministry of Interior has repeatedly addressed the issue of automatically providing protection to Ukrainians in the military era before the decision of the European Union on July 15.
Noting that the Warsaw administration can consider various measures in order to encourage Ukrainians to "fulfill their duties towards their homelands", Siemoniak said, "I do not think we should do this by force."
On July 15, the European Union countries decided to extend the period of the temporary protection mechanism for Ukrainian refugees until March 2028, but excluded people with military service obligations from this scope.
It was stated that the new rule in question would only apply to new applicants and would not affect Ukrainians who already benefit from temporary protection status in European Union countries.
Stating that he has repeatedly discussed the supply of soldiers with Ukrainian officials, Siemoniak said, "This is a huge shortcoming. In case of the number one deficiency for Ukraine. Therefore, they are definitely interested in the return of such people to Ukraine," he said.
After the military operation that started in 2022 in Ukraine, men between the ages of 27 and 60 were called up to the army. The mobilization age was reduced to 25 in 2024.
Pavel Palisa, Vice President of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, announced that the age of mobilization is not planned to be further reduced for now.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy called on Ukrainian men to return to the country in order to ensure rotation at the front in April at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in April.
Zelenskiy signed the law allowing certain categories of former convicts, who were paroled on 4 August, to contract not only in combat troops, but also in Regional Troop Recruitment Centers (TCC) and auxiliary units.