By Jo Harper
WARSAW (AA) - To shore up Ukraine's sinking number of soldiers, Poland is considering deporting Ukrainian refugees from the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said it will not rule out deporting Ukrainians living in the country.
"With regard to issues related to military conscription of Ukrainians staying abroad, including on Polish territory, we are aware of the current situation and the problem it poses for the Ukrainian side," said online portal Onet quoting the statement.
There are 958,000 Ukrainian citizens in Poland, according to the European Commission.
In order to fight the ongoing Russian invasion, the Ukrainian army has proposed mobilizing another 500,000 people.
Ukraine's defense chief Rustem Umerov caused a storm after he proposed sanctions on expats who do not respond to the request for conscription.
In an interview with Die Welt, he said that men aged 25 to 60 living in Germany and other countries "will be invited" to military recruitment centers for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the country's authorities are considering sanctions against people who do not respond to this request.
This proposal was later rolled back in a ministry statement.
In June, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said that "protected Ukrainians" were not at risk of forced deportation.
In February 2022, Russia launched attacks on Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, triggering a war that has seen Western countries backing Ukraine with weapons and funds.