News Feed

Ukrainians in Poland receive fake military summonses

2 min read
Ukrainians in Poland receive fake military summonses
Ukrainian refugees living in the city and the Poles supporting them are seen during the Independence Day of Ukraine celebrations in Gdansk, Poland, on Aug. 24, 2023 (Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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.

First Ukrainian Legion unit trained in Poland deployed to Ukraine, ambassador says
The initiative aims to bolster Ukraine’s Armed Forces by recruiting Ukrainian men living in Poland and other EU countries.
Article image
Avatar
Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

Read more
News Feed
Show More