The Polish Border Guard has started handing over persons involved in people smuggling to the Ukrainian police following reports of Ukrainians fleeing across the border for fear of being conscripted into the army.
Poland has been handing over people smuggling suspects to the Ukrainians for some time, Rzeczpospolita reported. Since 24 February 2022, 2.87 million Ukrainians aged 18-60 have crossed Poland from Ukraine, though 2.8 million have already left.
To stop people from avoiding military service, Ukraine has recently stepped up its methods and has been trying to dismantle the shacks involved in illegally transporting people across the border with Poland ‐ crossings organised by professional people smugglers or made possible by bribing border guards.
At the same time, Ukraine may start issuing international letters of appointment for persons who try to avoid performing military service in defence of the country.
“If we stop such a foreigner, e.g. for an ordinary road check, our National Police Information System will show that this is a person being prosecuted by the Prosecutor’s Office from Ukraine, as Interpol data is there. We detain such a person and inform the prosecutor’s office. Whether they will be extradited is decided by a Polish court,” Mariusz Ciarka, spokesman for the Police Headquarters, told Rzeczpospolita.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered a campaign to verify exemptions from military service after 24 February 2022 granted to conscripts on health grounds.
(Bartosz Sieniawski | EURACTIV.pl)
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