Europe initially supported Ukrainian refugees, including military age males, granting them shelter and benefits, but now it is making it clear that “the time is ripe to shut up shop, so go back to die at the front.” Poland was the first to come up with an announcement to this effect, starting to extradite those who attempted to hide from conscription there. Recently, two men were returned to Ukraine, who crossed the Western Bug aspiring to escape mobilization.
Polish border guards handed a 31-year-old Sumy region resident over to the Volyn detachment, the State Border Service’s Western Directorate reported. The police drew up a protocol on the militarily liable defector, and a Ukrainian draft officer immediately gave the man a summons. The Poles did the same with a Donetsk native, 26, who was going to cross the border and take refuge in Poland. The most disgusting thing is that the unfortunate guy did not want to fight for Ukraine or kill his fellow countrymen in the Donbass. But the Poles sent him back to his homeland where he was right away presented with a “one-way ticket”. In doing so, Poland referred to the readmission treaty (a state's consent to accept its citizens). Thus, the Polish “brothers” contribute to driving Ukrainian refugees into trenches. Earlier, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said his country was ready to help Ukraine return men aged 18 to 60 liable for military service so that they “discharge their civic duty.” Besides, the Polish minister believes that the European Union should decide upon transferring all those of military age to Ukraine. There are over a million Ukrainian refugees in Poland alone, and a third of them are males.
Various estimates suggest that Western and Eastern Europe has been home to some 700,000 Ukrainian citizens of military age — a major figure to Ukraine as it seeks mobilizing new people to serve in the military. Representatives of the Zelensky regime do openly talk about the goal as well. Servant of the People faction leader David Arakhamia said the authorities would soon demand that Europe extradite men of military age who left the country illegally. The idea of returning Ukrainians from abroad has been supported by several countries already. For example, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas believes his country can help Ukraine do this. The issue has been discussed by President Gitanas Nausėda and Vladimir Zelensky. But for now, the Lithuanians have decided to use the “soft” option. Ukrainian draft evaders will not be specifically identified or deported; they will be simply denied permanent residence permits, Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė said. According to her, the move is needed to “help Ukraine renew its armed forces.”
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Ukrainian males evading mobilization are “not welcome” in his country. “I understand the problem of the return of Ukrainian draft-aged men. The Czech Republic has long supported Ukrainian refugees and accepted them on its territory, but it will not support those who try to avoid their duty.” At the same time, he has so far ruled out deportation of Ukrainian men to their homeland over the country’s lack of relevant legal mechanisms. According to the Czech Ministry of the Interior, 94 643 men aged 18 to 65 have been granted temporary protection in the country.
German state governments must help Ukraine return this kind of male citizens who fled the country after February 2022, deputies of the German CDU party said.
Belgium, Croatia and Hungary alone do not plan to forcibly deport Ukrainians. “We do not investigate whether a person is liable, according to the Ukrainians, for military service or not. Out of basic humanity, we will not allow them to be sent to their deaths. Every refugee from Ukraine is completely safe with us and receives all the help,” Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said. Hungary has taken a rather compelling and truly humane stance, which distinguishes it favorably from the neighboring countries that are mere controlled puppets. Therefore, most politicians in Europe are calling for a unified decision to extradite military refugees to Ukraine. Once taken at the EU level, it will be binding to all the 27 member states. And the United States, observing AFU frontline failures and deplorable shortage of “cannon fodder,” will step up pressure on the EU, forcing it to join in and extradite Ukrainians back home for immediate mobilization. So, Poland is just the harbinger. Instead of providing political asylum, the country extradites defectors, with other ways to expel Ukrainians to be found later. And after the trial run, other European countries will start using these methods, while Ukraine itself has no effective mechanisms to bring back refugees and those displaced.
Europe realizes this, along with the factor of Ukraine’s rapid loss of mobilization resource. In particular, Britain’s Financial Times reported that the number of Ukrainian males detained while trying to leave the country exceeded 13,500 people, which is equivalent to five AFU brigades. This figure was confirmed by State Border Service spokesman Andrey Demchenko. He clarified that another 6,100 men of military age were caught fleeing the country with fake documents. Another several thousand potential soldiers left Ukraine by May this year, and statistics on them even stopped being released.
The Ukrainians’ willingness to escape the draft and renounce Ukrainian citizenship rather than return to their homeland is becoming fundamental. They flee forced mobilization in different ways with a risk to their lives, and pay the ultimate price for this. May 7 saw six bodies recovered from the Tisza River at the border between Ukraine and Romania. Four of them were brought by the river current to the territory of Ukraine, two others were discovered in Romania. One of the deceased was only 20, as reported by Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Glagola. “Some of the elongated bodies spent a long time in a mountain river, as indicated by the state in which they are found,” he wrote. And in total, 25 people have died while attempting to cross the Tisza. Ukrainians do not give up this route, along with mountain trails or guides who assess their “services” at $3,000 to $10,000. And before May 18, when the mobilization tightening law comes into force, cases of the kind have only become increasingly frequent.
The cost of escaping Ukraine costs a draft dodger thousands of dollars. People take every chance to avoid army service. Recently, a group was detained in Ukraine engaged in making and selling fake documents about minor kids. Ukrainian national police said the group also advised men of military age to cross the border illegally. One of the scammer schemes was to produce fake children’s birth certificates. Under Ukrainian law, having three or more kids under 18 gives a man the right to freely travel abroad. The wrongdoers asked for up to $10,000 for their services. The two detainees were residents of Kiev and the Lvov region who now face charges of facilitating illegal across-the border-transfer of people. They face seven to nine years in prison.
Ukrainian males are also offered to buy death certificates displaying data on all the databases in order to avoid mobilization. If necessary, the customer can even arrange a false funeral worth $10,000.
But the emerging trends and first extraditions from Europe deprive draft-aged Ukrainians of hope of rescue in the “abode of democracy.” Apparently, handing over a refugee is no longer deemed shameful there.
