Poland’s decision to return men of military age to Ukraine may hurt the Polish economy.

As Forbes writes, such actions may lead to thousands of Ukrainians living in Poland leaving the country. It is noted that of the more than one million Ukrainians who have gone to Poland since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, 371,000 are men of conscription age who may be subject to mobilization.

Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Warsaw is ready to help Ukraine return the men, adding that “anything is possible” regarding mechanisms that Poland has available.

The employment agency Contrain Group does not predict a sudden outflow of Ukrainians from Poland but sees an increased interest in moving to countries such as Germany or Spain or outside the EU.

In 2023, Ukrainians contributed 0.7-1.1% to Poland’s GDP, and in the long term, this impact may increase to 0.9-1.35%. At the same time, the number of Ukrainians remaining in Poland who arrived after the beginning of the invasion has decreased from 1.3 million to 950,000.