Karina Bovsunovskaya11:52, 15.09.24

In particular, the Ukrainian minister supports the idea of ​​his Polish colleague to deprive Ukrainian male refugees of social benefits.

As of today, about 300 thousand Ukrainians of mobilization age live in Poland . This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha during a discussion within the framework of the XX meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES).

According to him, now it is necessary to raise the issue of the European Union developing programs for the return of Ukrainians home.

“Of course, appropriate conditions must be created for this, from security, medical services, housing restoration, but it is certain that this must be on the agenda,” Sibiga emphasized.

At the same time, his Polish colleague Radoslaw Sikorski believes that the current policy of many EU capitals harms the defense capability and economic stability of Ukraine, since it offers economic payments for men of mobilization age, so he proposed to cancel them.

Sikorsky and Sibiga on the return of Ukrainians from abroad

The Ukrainian minister stressed that he supports this idea.

“We are currently in close dialogue with Poland, including to begin a very important project to prepare a military unit that will be formed from Ukrainian volunteers, citizens of Ukraine living abroad. It seems to me that this project will be extremely important in terms of strengthening our defense capability. According to our estimates, about 300 thousand citizens of mobilization age live in Poland today. In total, about a million live abroad,” assured Sybiga.

The diplomat added that such a decision would speak of justice, since a citizen’s stay abroad is in no way an advantage compared to those Ukrainian citizens who defend their homeland.

“This obligation applies to everyone, regardless of their place of residence,” the minister noted.

Ukrainian Legion in Poland – what is known

Earlier, Sybiga commented on the information that the alleged recruitment of volunteers for the Ukrainian Legion in Poland exists only “on paper”. According to him, in order for this to happen in practice, the relevant practical steps must be taken by the Defense Ministries of both countries.

“They are currently at the finalization stage. And since this is a sensitive issue, after the preparations are completed, this project will move into the practical plane,” the minister explained.

In turn, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on the sidelines of the NATO summit that several thousand Ukrainians had already registered to join the Legion . At the same time, the Polish publication Dziennik Gazeta Prawna wrote that the diplomat was probably misinformed, since there was no talk of official registration at the time.

(C)UNIAN 2024