WAR IN UKRAINE – According to the United Nations refugee agency, more than 50,000 refugees have already fled Ukraine since the launch of the Russian offensive on Thursday 24 February. The majority went to Poland and neighboring Moldova. The Élysée speaks, this Saturday afternoon, of 115,000 Ukrainian refugees.
As you can see in the video above, those who managed to flee took refuge in Moldova, Poland or Hungary. Poland, which has a long border with Ukraine and which is already home to around 1.5 million of its nationals, has expressed its support for the big neighbor to the east, and its willingness to help it.
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Zaporizhia train station. The images are reminiscent of the exodus of 1940. Here the crowd storms the trains leaving for Kiev. In the chaos, dozens of Moroccan medical students. #Ukrainepic.twitter.com/dI6h7Gj6NN
– Nicolas Delesalle (@KoliaDelesalle) February 26, 2022
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“Poland is preparing for different scenarios related to the tense situation,” the Interior Ministry said. He said contingency plans for a potential humanitarian crisis were under consideration there even before Russia recognized the independence of rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine and before the response Western through sanctions.
“We are ready to welcome children and young people to schools and students to Polish universities,” Education Minister Przemyslaw Czarnek said on Wednesday.
Romania and Slovakia also ready
Slovakia, which shares its eastern border with Ukraine, also assures us that it is ready to reach out to him. “We have ready-made plans for possible refugee pressure,” Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said on Tuesday.
Romania, which is one of the poorest countries in Europe, said it did not expect many Ukrainians to flee to its territory, but was ready to take in half of them. million.
Romania could set up reception centres, notably in the big towns along the 650 kilometers of its border with Ukraine. “Tents, beds, blankets, heaters, everything can be assembled and installed in less than twelve hours,” said Alexandru Moldovan, the prefect of Suceava in the north.
“Unpredictable situation”
Even Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban is known for his tough stance on migration, seemed ready to welcome refugees. “In the event of war, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of refugees would arrive from Ukraine and fundamentally reshape the political and economic situation in Hungary,” he recently agreed.
Hungary has announced that it will deploy its troops to the border with Ukraine for security and humanitarian aid purposes. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) notes that it has not observed population movements outside the eastern regions of Ukraine, but “the situation remains unpredictable”.
“A new refugee crisis”
The conflict triggered by Russia with Ukraine, however, could result in “a new refugee crisis” with “up to five million additional people displaced”, warned on Wednesday the American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas- Greenfield, before the United Nations General Assembly.
The Norwegian Refugee Council, a leading organization, warned earlier this month that if millions of people were forced to leave their places of residence in this way, aid groups would find it difficult to even respond. to a fraction of their needs.
See also on The HuffPost: War in Ukraine: Fighting for Control of Kiev Continues
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