As a month passed since the first invasion of Russia into Ukraine, tons of attention and hopes have been given and wished to Ukraine. Poland shares the longest border with Ukraine, and it is where most refugees flee, especially women and men aged between 0-18 and 60+. Due to the constant bombings and shooting attacks in Kyiv, around 3.6 million refugees have left since the crisis.
With similar ethnic groups in these two countries, over 2 million refugees have fled to Poland from the western borders. Polish soldiers have been providing shelter, necessities, and hygiene products for those who have fled Ukraine and arrived in Poland. Poland states that they will welcome all Ukrainian refugees into Poland. Polish citizens have also been welcoming and have been supporting Ukrainian refugees. Overall, positive reactions have been given to the 2 million refugees entering Poland. It has been the top destination, seeing that it shares one of the longest borders, and it has the most Ukrainian refugees.
While minimal military help is given to Ukraine, the refugee crisis certainly seems to be welcoming. People taking trains from the Ukrainian border city of Lviv are welcomed; an expo center in Warsaw is providing shelter for the 25,000 Ukrainian refugees who have fled. Poland, albeit with minimal resources, is trying to help the most out of Ukraine. Moreover, Poland is helping refugees safely pass through Poland as a transit into other countries. Overall, Poland has been supporting Ukraine tremendously as its cultural and geographical neighbor.
By. Kaiden Shin
Works Cited
“Poland welcomes more than two million refugees from Ukraine”, unhcr, unhcr, 18 March
2022,https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2022/3/6234811a4/poland-welcomes-million-refugees-ukraine.html ( Accessed March 25th, 2022 )
“How many Ukrainians have fled their homes and where have they gone?”, bbc, 24th March 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472 ( Accessed March 25th, 2022)
Specia, Megan. “How many Ukrainians have fled their homes and where have they gone?”,New York Times, March 21st 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/21/world/europe/polish-border-refugees.html ( Accessed March 25th, 2022)