Poland on alert for flood of refugees from Ukraine

Poland preparing to take in up to a million “real refugees” from Ukraine if Russia invades.

Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers move to their base in the northeast Kharkiv region. Picture: AFP

Poland preparing to take in up to a million “real refugees” from Ukraine if Russia invades.

The government in Kiev has said that between three and five million people could be forced to leave the country, with 1.5 million having already been displaced from their homes by fighting in the east of the country.

Ministers in Slovakia and the Czech Republic estimate that tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees might arrive if Russia ­attacked. Poland, which shares a 530km land border with Ukraine already has a substantial Ukrainian community.

If there is a war in Ukraine, we have to be prepared for an influx of real refugees, people fleeing from the inferno, from death, from the atrocities of war,” Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik told Polish television. “As a government we must be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and for some time the interior ministry has been taking steps to prepare us for the arrival of even a million people.”

Poland has taken a more combative approach to Russia than some of its EU neighbours. Several weeks ago it said it would more than double the size of its armed forces to ward off President Vladimir Putin’s “imperial” pretensions, expressing doubts about NATO’s ability to rally a swift and decisive response.

The head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, Pawel Soloch, said his country was ready to send Ukraine munitions, including material for air defence, within days.

A split is opening in the EU, with Poland and the Baltic states feeling directly threatened by the imminent deployment of Russian troops to within 100km of their borders, whereas countries such as France and Germany are wary of provoking Mr Putin.

The Times