The government hatching scheme to shore up Poles in Mariupol

"There is no military action nor violent incidents taking place in Mariupol. The city, located on Ukrainian territory, is free of separatists," which as Schetyna explained thus rules out evacuation.

Some 200 Poles, inhabiting the eastern city of Mariupol, however still feel the heat as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine shows no signs of subsiding. The municipality is located just kilometers away from the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, a stronghold of Moscow-backed separatists and has itself repeatedly come under seperatist attack.

On Tuesday, the Polish government upped aid reserves for Poles to be repatriated home from PLN 14 mln (EUR 3.3 mln) to PLN 30 mln (EUR 7 mln) in 2016. Interior Minister Piotr Stachańczyk also announced mid-week that efforts would be undertaken to "resolve the problem of those waiting to be repatriated to Poland," in line with instructions given by Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz.

Meanwhile, opposition Law and Justice party head Jarosław Kaczyński assured on Wednesday that an evacuation plan for Poles in Mariupol would be ready, should the party win the upcoming parliamentary elections on 25 October. Kaczyński declared that once in government, the party would pass a reform package to better protect and address the needs of Poles living abroad.

Kaczyński called the ruling party Civic Platform's newly announced plans "significantly belated" and dscribed the government as "completely callous" to the lot of Poles in Mariupol. "A Law and Justice Cabinet is the only hope for Poles based outside of the country, particularly in the east," he added.

A little over 5,000 people were repatriated to Poland in the period between January 2001 to December 2014. (aba/rk)

Source: IAR