Ukrainian men living in Poland have begun receiving fake military draft notices, threatening them with legal repercussions if they evade service, the Polish RMF24 news outlet reported on Jan. 3.
Poland's Office for Foreigners, which the letter falsely attributes as the author, stressed that it did not issue the document and that its content is fake. Ukraine's Embassy in Warsaw also denied the document's authenticity.
Almost 1 million Ukrainian refugees remain in Poland after they fled Russia's all-out invasion that broke out in February 2022.
"The Office for Foreigners emphasizes that it is not the author of such letters," the Polish government agency said, publishing a scanned copy of the letter written in Polish.
The authors impersonating the Polish authorities threaten the recipients with visits to the place of residence between Dec. 17-31 to bring the Ukrainian men to the relevant "mobilization point in connection with the obligation to perform military service in Ukraine's Armed Forces."
The letter goes on to threaten the recipients with criminal reliability, including extradition, in case of draft evasion.
It remains unclear who the real author of the letter is or how many Ukrainian men have received it.
The Polish authorities previously signaled a willingness to help Kyiv bring military-age men back to their home country as Ukraine struggles to replenish its Armed Forces' ranks.
The EU rejected the idea of forcibly deporting Ukrainian men, and no member country has put forward such a proposal. Instead, Warsaw proposed ending social benefits for fighting-age Ukrainian men.
Ukraine has also launched the new Ukrainian Legion in Poland, a volunteer unit manned by Ukrainians living in Poland and trained by the Polish Armed Forces. The unit's members can return to Poland after completing their service.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
