Most Poles want Ukrainian men sent home to fight – poll

Two-thirds of Poles believe that their government should send Ukrainian men of military age back home to fight against Russia, a new poll has suggested.

A survey by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CBOS), which was published by PAP news agency on Thursday, showed that 67% of Polish citizens were in favor of male Ukrainian refugees being deported. The number of people who thought they should be allowed to stay in Poland stood at just 22%.

According to the poll, more than a half of Poles (53%) wanted their country to continue to take in Ukrainian refugees. However, this is the lowest level since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Back in March 2022, it stood at 94%.

Some 46% of those surveyed insisted that the fighting between Russia and Ukraine should continue, while 39% said Kiev should make territorial or political concessions to Moscow with a view to achieving peace.

The poll, in which 941 people took part, was conducted between September 12 and September 22 by telephone, online, and through in-person interviews, CBOS said.

Poland, which has been one of the main backers of Ukraine during the conflict, initially willingly accepted more than a million refugees from the neighboring state, but the attitude towards Ukrainians in the country has shifted since then. According to UN data, there are some 6.1 million Ukrainian refugees living in the EU and UK.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski suggested last month that EU member states must reduce the social benefits given to Ukrainian refugees to encourage them to return to their country. “We should not be subsidizing draft evasion,” he argued.

In July, Warsaw announced the creation of the so-called ‘Ukrainian Legion’, with the aim of bringing together Ukrainian men staying in Poland and other EU countries in order for them to undergo military training before returning home to fight for their country.

However, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said earlier this month that only around 300 people had volunteered to join the unit in almost three months.