Poland Faces Impending Crisis
Officials from countries bordering Ukraine will travel to war-torn Kyiv today, amid warnings from Warsaw and Krakow leaders that Poland is reaching, and quickly surpassing refugee capacity.
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According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine and left for neighboring countries since the Russian attacks started on Feb. 24. That number is currently estimated to be as high as 2.8 million and the vast majority of those seeking refuge, nearly 1.8 million people, have fled to Poland, with smaller numbers fleeing to other countries such as Hungary, Moldova, and Slovakia.
The Ukrainian exodus is set to become Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis in this century, already on par with the number of refugees who were displaced from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined in 2015. While millions more people are still displaced within Ukraine, adding more to the actual refugee total, the exact number is hard to know for sure.
According to Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, who spoke to the National Security Council on Feb. 28: “If [the] fighting continues, as many as 4 million — roughly 10 percent of the Ukrainian population — could be displaced in the coming weeks.” This prediction could nearly double the current conditions for neighboring refugee locations.
Russian attacks have indeed only worsened and now officials in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland’s two largest cities, have warned that they are reaching a tipping point where they can no longer cope with the waves of refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The mayors of Warsaw and Krackow now say that they are struggling to accommodate the sheer number of people who are arriving — and have urged the United Nations and European Union to intervene.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski said that his government would begin sending Ukrainian refugees to accommodations outside the city, including the surrounding province of Małopolska. “In the last several days, we have already received approx. 100,000 war refugees. Krakow is slowly losing its ability to accommodate further waves,” Majchrowski said.
Majchrowski has also warned that more people arriving in Krakow could hinder “the functioning of the city.” The Krakow Mayor added: “We have been helping Ukraine since the first days of the war, but as a local government, we are first responsible for the citizens.”
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who is diligently trying to manage the overflow of people in Poland’s Capitol said the following as he urged the rest of the world for help: “We need to show solidarity, we need to show that we can do everything we can…so that our friends in Kyiv know that we are with them…we are doing our part because the Ukrainians are fighting for our freedom [and stability].”
“[The] situation is getting more and more difficult every day,” Mayor Trzaskowski said. Local media has reported that Trzaskowski has actively urged the United Nations and European Union to intervene and support Polish cities grappling with the crisis.
Local media reports also reveal that most refugees prefer to stay near the border or in major cities, but according to a spokeswoman for the Krakow mayor on Thursday, the influx, has become “a huge organizational problem for the city.” It’s also important to note that most of the refugees at this time are women and children, who are always at higher risk of exploitation and abuse. Men aged 18 to 60 are unable to leave while the country is under martial law, which means many families have been separated.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Janša now intend to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his PM Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv today. This notable meeting will take place even as invading Russian forces are close to the Ukrainian capital, a city that is still under sustained shelling, following the Kremlin’s lethal invasion.
The Polish government issued a statement early Tuesday, saying that the prime ministers of the three countries will act as representatives of the European Council during their Ukrainian visit. The accompanying statement, which was published in English, added that the purpose of the visit is to confirm “the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” as well as to “present a broad package of support for the Ukraine (sic) and Ukrainians.” International organizations, such as the UN, were also informed of the visit, the statement said.
The decision to travel to Ukraine, despite the notable dangers, is no doubt part of an effort to show solidarity to a country that has been actively under siege since February 24. The impending refugee crisis for Poland and other countries neighboring Ukraine will undoubtedly be part of today’s discussion as well. Most importantly, by traveling to an active war zone, these officials are showing the international community the level of unity between these symbiotic countries, which will surely help emphasize the need for more humanitarian aid.
While we wait for the international community to step up further and provide additional assistance, here are a few organizations that you can donate to today, that will help these affected refugee areas with food and basic supplies:
CARE’s Ukraine Crisis Fund: Aims to provide food, water, hygiene kits, and more to Ukrainians, especially women and girls.
Team Rubicon: This NGO specializes in disaster response and has sent a team of physicians to Poland to help refugees, especially children, women, disabled persons, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Donate here to support its efforts.
Global Empowerment Mission: This organization is running a welcome center at the Poland-Ukraine border. It’s using its funds to facilitate the influx of refugees to Poland, paying for flights and trains to relocate anyone who can’t find housing in Poland.
Humanity & Inclusion: This global organization supports individuals and refugees from conflict-stricken areas, especially those with physical injuries and disabilities and the elderly, and will help deliver emergency aid to refugees displaced by the conflict.
In addition to assisting with the current influx of refugees, the following organizations are doing important work in their areas to help support Ukraine, and a donation can help them continue:
The International Fund for Animal Welfare: IFAW has been present in Ukraine where they’ve worked with two animal shelters, Shelter Pif and the Holivka Shelter, both of which are located in eastern Ukraine and care for 800 and 300 dogs respectively - numbers that are rapidly increasing as the war continues.
The Kyiv Independent: You can support Ukraine’s English-language media outlet that is providing all other journalists, myself included, with critical information from the ground.
World Central Kitchen: Founded by Chef Jose Andres, this organization goes directly where there is a need and has already served one million meals to families across Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Hungary.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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This is all just so horrible. What the Russians are doing is a war crime (or more accurately, a series of war crimes), in my opinion. They are essentially trying to raze Ukraine to the ground, and to depopulate the country at the same time. My heart goes out to the brave Ukrainian people.
3 years ago we went to Warsaw and stayed in the Old Market Square, which had been destroyed by the Nazis in WW2 and painstakingly rebuilt to exacting specifications in the 50s. The Poles were lovely people and we got to see Warsaw during Christmastime. It made a strong impression on me. I was shocked this morning to hear that there are 300K refugees in Warsaw alone from Ukraine. Definitely looking for any way to help. Feeling like we are on the right side of history here and that our actions will have great meaning for the future of Europe and, more than likely, the rest of the world. We can do good.