Sean Penn signs deal to help Ukraine refugees as Poland accepts more than two million

American actor and director Sean Penn was spotted in Poland to sign a major deal as the country now accepts more than two million alone.

Sean Penn leaves the city hall after signing a humanitarian contract with the Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski in Krakow, Poland. Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images

The war in Ukraine has sparked Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II, according to the UN refugee agency.

In latest figures from the UN, more than 3.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, with more than two million of them heading to neighbouring Poland.

American actor and director Sean Penn was spotted signing an agreement for his CORE Foundation to provide help to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Sean Penn leaves the city hall after signing a humanitarian contract with the Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski in Krakow, Poland. Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images

Under the deal between CORE, which he co-founded, and the municipality of Krakow, the foundation will open an office in the historic southern Polish city and provide educational activities and also convert unoccupied premises to accommodate around 50 refugees, the Polish agency PAP said in a report.

Life has changed for those in Poland as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and endures the influx of more than two million refugees. The majority are being hosted in Poles’ private houses. Poland is now the world’s second largest host of refugees.

The country has begun issuing refugees with registration numbers so they can access services and get jobs and go to school.

Ogromne zainteresowanie punktem rejestracji uchodźców, który ruszył dziś na @PGENarodowy. Pierwsze osoby otrzymały nr PESEL. Dziękuję wszystkim, dzięki którym ta wspólna inicjatywa rządu i samorządu warszawskiego, powstała w ekspresowym tempie. pic.twitter.com/p60B9N50a9

— PaweÅ‚ Szefernaker (@szefernaker) March 19, 2022

While the general situation in Poland “remains stable”, Poland’s Ambassador to Australia Michał Kołodziejski told news.com.au last week: “We are starting to feel some growing pressure on, among others, our health care or education systems.”

Sean Penn and the Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski (not seen) speak to the press after signing a humanitarian contract at the City Hall. Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images

Penn was in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in late February when the Russian invasion began, to shoot a documentary, the Ukrainian president’s office said at the time.

The double Oscar-winner was photographed attending a government news conference in Kyiv, and could be seen meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted to the Ukrainian president’s official Instagram account.

The 61-year-old actor with two Oscars — for “Harvey Milk” and “Mystic River” — is shooting a documentary for Vice Studios, according to NBC News.

Ukrainian evacuees wait to board a train to Warsaw at the rail station in Przemysl, near the Polish-Ukrainian border. Picture: Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP

Ambassador Kołodziejski told news.com.au last week that Ukraine’s neighbour has taken more than half of all the refugees fleeing Ukraine.

“Poland accepts everyone escaping the war in Ukraine regardless of nationality, citizenship etc. and to allow that, the control procedures on the Polish-Ukrainian border have been significantly eased,” Mr Kołodziejski said.

“At the same time, our border guards continue verifying the identity of every person entering Poland, therefore we are able to provide the exact number of refugees from Ukraine.

“Since the very beginning of the war, we’ve been seeing an enormous mobilisation and great efforts from ordinary people, local governments and state institutions united in solidarity and sympathy with Ukraine and focused on one specific goal: To help those in need.”

Poland has been a key player within Europe and beyond over recent weeks. After Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki joined leaders from the Czech Republic and Slovenia on a “perilous” train journey to Kyiv this week, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “With allies like this we will win this war.”

President Joe Biden arrived in Europe on a mission to bolster Western unity and ramp up unprecedented sanctions against Russia over its invasion.

Underlining how serious the crisis raging in eastern Europe has become, Biden told reporters as he boarded the Marine One helicopter at the White House that he sees “a real threat” of Russian chemical warfare against Ukraine.

With Russian troops increasingly bogged down, the possibility that President Vladimir Putin could order chemical, biological or even tactical nuclear strikes to subdue Ukraine will be one of the dire scenarios discussed at back-to-back NATO, G7 and EU summits in Brussels on Thursday.