#CONSCRIPTION

The Ukrainian National Police dismantled nearly 50 smuggling rings trafficking draft-age men across the border during a major 24-hour operation.

Around 10,000 immigrants to Russia who have recently received their Russian passports have been drafted into the military and sent to the frontlines, a Russian official said during a press conference on Thursday, June 27.

Ukraine’s defense ministry said 150,000 people successfully logged into the newly launched ‘Reserve+’ app, designed for individuals subject to mandatory military service as well as conscripts, and reservists.

The Foreign Ministry announced the move following April’s controversial ban.

Leading Polish politicians have pledged to support Ukraine while debate continues to rage on the extension of residency permits for male Ukrainian nationals living in Poland. “We will not protect draft dodgers,” declared the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrzej Szejna.

Lithuania’s defense minister has said his country will follow in Poland’s footsteps and help Ukraine get military-aged men back home to help in the war effort.

On Friday, Minister of Education Dariusz Wieczorek announced that he would like to discuss the situation of Ukrainian students in Poland with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, as well as with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "We need to analyze this," he declared on TOK FM radio.

The overall suspension of consular services for men aged 18–60 brings a lot of discussion among Ukrainians living abroad.

TVP World’s guests were former NATO official Robert Pszczel and military analyst Jeff Hawn.

In recent years, Poland has witnessed a rise in economic migrants from various countries, yet Ukrainians, predominantly males, continue to represent the largest group among legally employed foreign workers.

The decline in morale is linked to insufficient ammunition supplies and a “general lack of Western support”.