Widespread fake: forced mobilization of Ukrainians in Poland

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Since January 2023, there has been an active wave of mobilization of conscripts in Ukraine. This year, new military accounting rules came into force. In particular, it will be possible to get a job after receiving a military ticket. Also, foreign diplomatic offices will keep military records in other countries and facilitate repatriation. These innovations led not only to statements in Ukraine but also in Poland and Russia.

 

Forced mobilization in Poland: myth or reality?

Polish General Waldemar Skrzypczak proposes to mobilize Ukrainians in Poland, train them and send them to war with Russia. He shared his opinion with the publication wPOLITYCE.pl (ed. – Polish right-wing Internet portal. According to the Media Monitoring Institute, the wPolityce portal took third place in the list of the most frequently cited Polish online media in 2019).

Widespread fake: forced mobilization of Ukrainians in Poland, The Ukrainian Review

Waldemar Skrzypczak, general, from 2006 to 2009 he was the commander of Polish Land Forces. Source: https://i.gremicdn.pl/image/free/f90ecf7814d4ae677db58b4069c700fb/?t=resize:fill:948:592,enlarge:1

Waldemar Skrzypczak is a Polish general. From 2006 to 2009 he was the commandedefencer of the Polish Land Forces. Since September 8, 2011, he is an adviser at the Polish Ministry of National Defense. On June 25, 2012, he became deputy minister of defense, responsible for armament and modernization.

Let’s take a closer look at the general’s proposal.

“Together with NATO, we must start training new formations of the Ukrainian army – in Poland, Germany, and France. Mobilize, train, appoint, and send to the front. Do they want to be soldiers? It is necessary to mobilize, draft into the army and that’s all.”

If we analyze the proposal of Mr. Skrzypczak from the side of military pragmatism, then the proposal to train the military abroad is correct. Some Ukrainian military personnel already training in various European countries. But is extradition to Ukraine and forced mobilization legal?

 

Is it possible to mobilize Ukrainian refugees in Poland?

Since the Russian invasion, 9.338 million Ukrainian citizens have crossed the borders of Poland. 7.495 million Ukrainians returned to the country. A large group of refugees left for other countries. More than a million people remained in Poland.

From December 30, 2022, Ukrainian diplomatic institutions abroad are responsible for keeping military records of conscripted Ukrainians who are abroad and can facilitate their return. But is there a legal instrument of military extradition?

Widespread fake: forced mobilization of Ukrainians in Poland, The Ukrainian Review

Kateryna Anishchenko, the lawyer of the Riyako&Partners. Source: Facebook

Kateryna Anishchenko, the lawyer of the legal company Riyako&Partners, says that there is currently no mechanism for the return and extradition of conscripts to Ukraine.

“There is extradition — handing over of a detainee — in the fight against crime. But citizens of Ukraine who went abroad during the war are not criminals. Also, proposals to a foreigner or a stateless person to voluntarily leave the country of residence can be applied only to persons who maliciously violate the order of the country of their residence.”

It is worth noting that, in addition to the fact that there is no mechanism, it is not possible to track the actual location in the European Union. If a Ukrainian does not want to mobilize in Poland, he always has the opportunity to cross the border and look for a new home in other EU countries.

 

The reaction of the Russian mass media

By itself, Waldemar Skrzypczak’s statement has neither legal force nor support from the Polish authorities. But this interview gave a reason for Russian propaganda and their mass media to write that Poland is no longer so friendly to Ukrainians. Russia simply reproduced the general’s proposal, but each publication presented it in its own way. Let’s look at a few posts.

Widespread fake: forced mobilization of Ukrainians in Poland, The Ukrainian Review

The Ukrainian army copes without forced mobilization. Source: https://jamestown.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ukrainian-soldiers-EDM-Ma-10-2021.jpg

Vzglyad. (The View)

Russian political analyst Oleg Khavych took as a basis an interview with Waldemar Skrzypczak and said that it is this general who expresses the radical opinion of the Polish authorities.

Radio 1

Tatyana Lavrova duplicated the position of the Polish general and reminded that, according to their data, the Armed Forces of Ukraine exposed Polish mercenaries in issuing positions.

Voennoye Obozrenie (Military Review)

According to the standard, journalist Serhiy Kuzmytskyi provided quotes from Mr. Skrzypczak’s interview about violent mobilization and did not forget to denigrate Ukrainians: “Today’s Ukrainian refugees are different from the Polish refugees of that time. They left a country where hostilities are in full swing.”

Ren.tv

And in the Ren.tv edition, they went even further. The anonymous author not only introduced the main theses from the general’s speech but also added information on his behalf that does not correspond to reality: “The West cannot help Kyiv, which has virtually no chance of victory. The Armed Forces suffered terrible losses, and the Russian military will simply achieve the goals of the special operation.”

 

Conclusions

Propaganda manipulates words. The reader does not even know whether the opinion of Waldemar Skrzypczak is authoritative or whether he has anything to do with the Polish authorities today. But such radical expressions, which have neither legal nor political weight, can be used by the enemy.

 

Viktoriia Riepka