Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski urged European governments to halt social payments for Ukrainian men of conscription age living abroad to encourage them to return and join the fight against the Russian invasion, online Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported.
"Hiding from conscription is not a reason for financial assistance. Just stop paying them," Sikorski said, adding that Poland does not provide such support. "Just stop paying them."
Sikorski was speaking over the weekend at the 20th meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in Kyiv, a gathering of diplomates, intellectuals and other dignitaries sponsored by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, also in attendance at the meeting, endorsed Sikorski's idea, and stressed the importance of creating favorable conditions for their homecoming.
He added that a million Ukrainian men of conscription age are now living abroad, with 300,000 of them in neighboring Poland alone. He said it's a matter of "justice" that they return and fight, relieving soldiers who are weary from long periods on the front line.
Sybiga also said the Polish and Ukrainian governments are working together on Polish soil to train a military unit in Polish territory composed of Ukrainian volunteers from abroad.
