Main destination for those fleeing the war in Ukraine, which started 11 days ago, Poland has already received more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees. The figure was released on Sunday night (6) by the Polish border service on social media.
Since the Russian invasion began, Polish authorities have eased border regulations and organized reception centers for Ukrainian citizens. There are also individual expressions of solidarity, with civilians offering their homes to shelter refugees, distributing food, clothing and hygiene items.
“There are a million human tragedies, a million people driven from their homes by war,” reads the statement from the border service. “One million people who heard the Polish border guards say: now you are safe.”
The latest estimates by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, show that at least 1.5 million have left Ukraine since the start of the war. Neighboring countries, mainly Poland and Romania, are the main destinations for refugees. Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova are also among the places to which those fleeing the conflict, which has claimed more than 360 civilian casualties.
At stations in major Polish cities, such as the capital Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw, dozens of volunteers wait for refugees to inform them about accommodation possibilities and other forms of assistance offered by the government.
Many schools have opened their doors to Ukrainian children — most of the refugees are minors and women, as men over 18 cannot leave the country.
The wave of Ukrainians seeking refuge is witnessing a different stance in Warsaw from that adopted on other occasions, such as, for example, when a wave of refugees from Belarus and driven by dictator Aleksandr Lukachenko parked on the border with Ukraine. Faced with this crisis, Poland closed the border to immigrants.
This time, both Conservative Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda have repeatedly supported the coming of Ukrainians to the country.
The former, in the last week, published a photo on the country’s border with Ukraine with the following caption: “Poland is a safe haven for those seeking protection from Russian aggression. The Poles opened their doors and their hearts, showing great solidarity with Ukrainian children, mothers and entire families.”
The second, in turn, also published a similar publication, in which he said he had visited a refugee reception center. In the caption, he directed a message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Tell your boys they can fight calmly, their relatives are safe in Poland”.
