EU generosity undermines Kiev’s military – Poland

The West should not subsidize draft-dodgers with refugee benefits, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said

EU members should reduce social benefits given to Ukrainian refugees to encourage them to go back to their home country and fight against Russia, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said.

The senior diplomat criticized other nations in the bloc for supposedly undermining the Ukrainian military, in an interview with Le Monde on Thursday. 

”We are reducing [Ukraine’s] mobilization potential by paying benefits to Ukrainian refugees,” Sikorski argued, speaking to the French newspaper during a visit to Kiev.

The Polish government provides money to Ukrainian adults who enter the country with children, the foreign minister said, but countries in Western Europe provide additional benefits.

“This is a financial disincentive for young men and women who could return home to defend their country,” he argued. “We should not be subsidizing draft evasion.”

Only men are subject to forced conscription in Ukraine, though earlier this year, the country implemented a major reform which lowered the age and health eligibility criteria. Kiev also targeted citizens residing in foreign nations, denying them consular services unless they submit their data for potential draft.

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Sikorski's reasoning coincides with what he apparently stated in private to Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who posed as former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko.

In a prank video released by the Russian duo on Thursday, the fake Poroshenko asked for Poland’s help in returning Ukrainians back to their country. Sikorski said Poland can only legally expel people who violate its laws, and that a streamlined system of extradition requests would have to be launched in Ukraine if it wants large-scale repatriation to occur.

The foreign minister added that any attempts to pressure people into going back voluntarily would have to be EU-wide, because “we don’t want Ukrainians to start moving around the EU searching for the best deal.”

“People should not be paid for being draft-dodgers,” he said.

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Poland has agreed to enlist and train Ukrainian volunteers on its soil as part of its support for Kiev, he noted, but said that Warsaw has “zero willingness” to send its own army into Ukraine to fight Russia, when asked if Poland would “join the team” on the ground.