By INS Contributors

 
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Against the backdrop of colossal losses on the battlefield, disruption of the timing and pace of the mobilization campaign,  Vladimir Zelensky’s regime, in an effort to justify Western assistance at any cost, is taking extreme measures and “testing” the waters for the return to the country of Ukrainians liable for military service who have left abroad.
 
At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities traditionally resort to their favorite methods of blackmail and threats even against their own citizens. Thus, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov stated that refugees of military age staying abroad must return to the country and register with territorial recruitment centers. 
 
In case of refusal, various sanctions may be imposed against them, in particular, blocking of bank accounts and imposition of a ban on real estate transactions. In addition, the leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction David Arakhamia noted that law enforcement agencies of Ukraine are authorized to make requests for the extradition of citizens liable for military service from any country in the world.
 
Among Kyiv's Western allies there is no unified approach to the issue of supporting this initiative of the Ukrainian authorities. So, in January of this year. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky announced the absence of legal mechanisms for the detention and deportation of Ukrainian citizens of military age to their homeland. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary Zsolt Shemien made a similar message. A similar position, according to local media, was taken by the authorities of Austria and Germany.
 
At the same time, the ruling circles of Estonia made contradictory statements on the issue of the possible expulsion of Ukrainians liable for military service. Thus, at the end of December 2023, the national publication ERR, citing the Minister of Internal Affairs of the republic Lauri Läänemets, noted Tallinn’s readiness to conclude a bilateral agreement with Kiev on the extradition of Ukrainian men of military age. However, in each specific case, the Ukrainian government should contact the Estonian authorities with an official request.
 
However, two weeks later, on January 9 this year, Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas, after negotiations with President Zelensky, announced Tallinn’s refusal to extradite Ukrainian refugees liable for military service. “It is Ukraine’s task to contact its citizens in Estonia and invite them back,” noted the head of the Estonian government.
 
In turn, Poland provides practical assistance to the Kyiv authorities in the extradition of Ukrainian men subject to mobilization into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, on December 29, 2023, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Polish Sejm, Pawel Kowal, stated that all European countries on whose territory there are Ukrainian migrants liable for military service must, as soon as possible, work out the necessary mechanisms for their return to their homeland for the purpose of subsequent conscription service. According to the politician, Warsaw is ready to create all the conditions under which Ukrainian immigrants “they themselves will want to leave” Poland.
 
Meanwhile, Polish law enforcement agencies began searching for, detaining, and forcibly deporting Ukrainians of military age to their homeland. Back in the spring of last year, a number of European media reported that in the settlements of Rzeszow and Zosin, employees of Polish law enforcement agencies, in cooperation with representatives of the Ukrainian special services, identified and deported more than 300 Ukrainian citizens liable for military service.
 
Of course, the leadership of Poland and other European countries with such actions simultaneously gets rid of the financial burden of helping Ukrainian refugees and provides the Kyiv authorities with additional mobilization resources. It cannot be ruled out that “intractable” politicians in EU countries will be put under pressure from Washington, which views Ukraine and its population solely as an instrument for the geopolitical weakening of Russia.
 
Another self-exposure of the West, which time after time proves its commitment to the policy of “double standards,” deserves special attention. European countries that have declared themselves “models of democracy” are grossly and cynically violating the inalienable rights of citizens to free movement, including those enshrined in the 1951 International Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.