Where Ukraine has received support from all over Europe, Poland’s stands out. Ukrainian flags can be seen all over the country and buildings are colored blue-yellow. The more than one and a half million Ukrainians who have fled to the country have been welcomed with open arms. Poland has centuries-old historical and cultural ties to Ukraine – before the Second World War, for example, the city of Lviv was still part of Poland. That is also why the war is so close here.
“It feels like they attacked us,” says Jabłonka. “Comparable for the Netherlands if Flanders were invaded.” He has also taken in refugees himself. When asked if he was surprised by the Russian invasion, he laughs. “No, we are not at all surprised. We are used to it. Come on, this is our life. We live next to the volcano. The Russian volcano.”
Historian Fac is surprised at the European unanimity. Even though Western countries may not have understood the threat enough in recent years, he says there is now no doubt about that. “Here on the border of Poland and Ukraine, we had not counted on this support from the European Union.”
The warnings from Poland are now arriving, he concludes. “The EU looked like a nicely laid table, but in fact it was rotten. Putin thought he could collapse that table with a kick. But Europe has not fallen apart. On the contrary.”
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