Ukrainians in Poland received fake summonses
3 January 13:17
Ukrainian citizens in Poland began receiving summonses to report to a mobilization center. However, they turned out to be fake, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
One such case was reported by the Office for Foreigners in Poland. They published a scan of a letter received in Poland by a Ukrainian citizen allegedly on behalf of this office. However, the government agency claims that it did not send this letter.
The letter, meanwhile, reminds the citizen of his military duty to the Ukrainian state and warns him that he will be picked up soon.
“According to the norms of the current legislation of Ukraine, in particular the Law “On Military Service”, as well as in connection with the mobilization, given that you are a citizen of Ukraine, we inform you that on December 17-31, 2024, we plan to visit your place of residence, which is located at the address: ul. The purpose of this visit is to bring you to the mobilization point in connection with your military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine,”
– the letter reads.
On behalf of the department, the citizen is urged to “immediately report to the call”, otherwise he will be arrested and deported to Ukraine.
“If you do not appear voluntarily, further mobilization measures will need to be taken, which may include legal liability, including an arrest warrant and cooperation with the relevant Ukrainian services. We remind you that persons who evade military service may face legal and criminal consequences, including extradition to Ukraine,”
– the letter reads.
The Office, however, emphasizes that such letters are fake:
“The Office for Foreigners emphasizes that it is not the author of such letters.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Poland also denied the authenticity of such letters.
“…we inform you that such information is not true. The Office for Foreigners is not the author of calls for military service, and the so-called letters are fake. We would like to inform you that there are no summonses or notifications of conscripts, persons liable for military service and reservists sent to Ukrainian citizens in the territory of the Republic of Poland,”
– the embassy said.
It is noteworthy that both the Office and the embassy are talking about “letters” and not just an isolated case, which the Office for Foreigners cited as an example.
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Ukrainian men in Poland
According to the latest data, 7.7 million Ukrainians, out of those who left during the full-scale war, are now abroad. About one million of them are in Poland. In total, there are about 400,000 Ukrainian men of mobilization age in Poland.
The Ukrainian government is constantly trying to get Ukrainians abroad to update their military records, but these efforts have not been very successful so far. As of the summer of 2024, only about 65,000 Ukrainian men abroad had done so, and this number has probably changed little since then.
The security agreement between Ukraine and Poland, signed in July 2024, provided for the creation of a Polish legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, formed of Ukrainian men living in Poland. The Polish state took over the financing, training, and arming of this legion.
However, its formation did not go smoothly. As it turned out, there were not many people in Poland willing to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and they failed to recruit not only a legion but also a brigade of Ukrainians. At the end of December 2024, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar said that more than a thousand people had applied to the legion, and the first recruits were expected to sign contracts with the Armed Forces around January 10 this year.
