Queues at gas stations and ATMs, train and bus stations with crowded platforms, avenues taken by cars in a single direction – the exit. Movement within and on Ukraine’s borders intensified once it became clear that the Russian attacks had indeed begun in the early hours of Thursday.
According to the first calculations by the UN and the European Commission, between 100,000 and 120,000 people were displaced on the first day of the war alone.
There are two main moves. Many leave the large centers or those already reached by the Russians towards smaller cities within Ukraine itself, seeking to approach the areas to the southwest, the furthest from the line with Russia. Others already cross the borders of neighboring countries, especially those that are part of both the European Union and NATO, the Western military alliance, such as Romania and Poland.
The displacements are expected to continue in the coming days and, depending on the worsening of the conflict, involve up to 5 million residents – the total population of Ukraine is about 44 million.
“If Russia continues on this path, it could, by our estimates, create a new refugee crisis, one of the largest the world is facing today, with up to 5 million displaced people,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the United States. on Wednesday (23), the day before the Russian attack. The organization announced a $20 million humanitarian aid package for Ukraine.
Englishman David Miliband, chairman of the International Rescue Committee, told British TV that Europe must face a much larger wave of refugees than in the 1990s. Conflicts related to the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, such as in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo , caused the displacement within and outside the borders of around 4.4 million people.
“We can only hope that the numbers don’t get to that level. It would be a big and serious level of displacement. But even in really large-scale displacements, that’s something Europe can manage,” he told the BBC. sheet Catherine Woollard, director of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), a network of 105 NGOs working in 39 countries.
Fabio Prevedello, president of the Italy-Ukraine Maidan Association, who is in contact with Ukrainian families, says that in large cities the Russians are targeting military and political-administrative targets, and there is an obvious fear that this will also end up affecting homes. “At the borders, reports are that neighboring countries are allowing free passage, with no requirement for special documents, only those that prove the person’s identity.”
According to him, the profile of those who cross the border are women, the elderly and children, with many men remaining in the country for combat.
The countries of the European Union, both collectively and individually, have expressed their readiness to welcome refugees in recent hours. “We have, with the frontline countries, contingency plans to immediately welcome refugees from Ukraine. We hope that there will be as few refugees as possible, but we are prepared and they are welcome,” said the President of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen.
In Poland, with 500 km of border with Ukraine, the government announced the provision of eight reception points, with a structure for refugees to sleep, eat and receive medical care.
“Whoever is fleeing bombs, Russian weapons, can count on the support of the Polish government”, declared Mariusz Kamiński, minister of the interior. According to local radio, another ministry official said that Poland was preparing for a wave of 1 million Ukrainians.
The first positive signs of refugee reception contrast with recent crises, such as Syria, in 2016, or even Belarus, in recent months, in which countries have shown themselves to be hostile towards migrants. “Unfortunately, some policies are determined by factors such as skin color, religion and nationality. These factors influence the response to different refugee movements and, in some cases, illegally and unethically this influences the openness and reception offered”, he says. Woollard.
“The events that began Thursday morning will inevitably lead to a colossal humanitarian catastrophe,” says Tetiana Stawnychy, president of Caritas Ukraine. “It’s impossible to believe that in the 21st century, in central Europe, people have to wake up at 5 am to explosions and sirens.”
According to the organization, linked to the Catholic Church, the crisis generated by the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 caused the displacement of 1.5 million people. The situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which had already been monitored for the past six months, had already left nearly 3 million people in need of humanitarian aid. “That number today is growing exponentially.”
