Where are the Ukrainian refugees going?

More than 677,000 Ukrainians have already fled the Russian war in their country since Tuesday, and that number is growing every hour.

“I have rarely seen such a rapidly growing exodus of people, the largest in Europe since the Balkan wars,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a United Nations Security Council Meeting on Monday.

European governments and humanitarian organizations have been planning their arrival for weeks, but the number of refugees has exceeded these expectations. The UN has predicted that 4 million Ukrainian refugees could arrive in neighboring countries in the coming weeks alone.

Such a heavy influx would be a great burden for the host states and would undoubtedly stress the reception systems and relevant resources, Grandi said.

So far, at least 280,000 Ukrainians have gone to Poland, 94,000 to Hungary, 40,000 to Moldova, 34,000 to Romania, 30,000 to Slovakia and tens of thousands to other European countries. A significant number have also gone to Russia, according to Grand. Most refugees are women and children, including an increasing number of unaccompanied children. Ukraine has recruited men between the ages of 18 and 60 to fight, barring them from leaving.

Attila Kisbenedek / AFP via Getty Images

Refugees are arriving on crowded trains, by car, even on foot after walking for tens of miles, waiting in long lines at the border to reach safety and bringing everything they could put in their luggage if they wanted to. had time to pack. . Those who can afford it have found their accommodation, but others are staying in government-run shelters, hotels paid for by private companies, churches, or with their families or ordinary citizens who have offered to accept them.

Right now, with the help of the international community, Ukraine’s neighbors are managing to treat the refugees they are receiving. But in order for them to continue to do this successfully, they will need a lot more supplies and money, and soon.

There are still long queues at the borders

Neighboring countries have kept their borders open, unlike other migrant crises in the recent past. But in fact crossing the border is still a laborious process.

Although Poland is accepting refugees without passports, there have been long queues at border crossings where people have had to wait as long as 60 hours be processed at freezing temperatures and have been sleeping in their cars, if at all. Traffic has deteriorated so much that the Polish government has sought volunteers not to appear at the border unless they have made arrangements to meet the refugees prematurely.

There is also a 20-hour queue in Romania, and it takes 24 hours to drive about 60 kilometers separating Odessa from Ukraine’s border with Moldova. according to the UN.

There were reports of black refugees, many of them third-country nationals who were students in Ukraine, facing difficulties in crossing. At the Polish border, some Ukrainian guards sent blacks to rear of line last week, saying the Ukrainians had the upper hand. Polish authorities have said anyone appearing at the border is allowed to cross.

We strongly condemn this racism and believe it undermines the spirit of solidarity that is so urgently needed today, Kenyan Ambassador to the UN Martin Kimani said at a Security Council meeting on Monday.

Ensuring that refugees in line have adequate access food, water and medical support is also a problem. According to Washington Post.

NGOs have tried to help. Chief Jose Andres Central World CuisineFor example, it distributed 4,000 meals over 18 hours in Medyka, currently Poland’s busiest border crossing. Polish authorities have also tried to simplify processing, but resources and staff at their borders are simply not equipped to cope with the current volume of arrivals.

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European countries are ensuring that Ukrainians have a place to go

The European Community is mobilized to ensure that Ukrainians have a place to stay in the short and long term. Local governments set up temporary shelters and civilians are welcoming refugees into their homes. The EU too asked all 27 member states grant asylum to all Ukrainians for up to three years, which would give them access to social services and work permits. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Sunday that one overwhelming majority were in favor of such a thing, but did not specify which countries opposed the measure.

In Poland, where at least 40 percent of Ukrainian refugees have gone so far, young people are coming transported by tourist buses to one of the nine reception centerswhere they are located with one condition meals, medical care, beds and legal information and services. In the city of Korçova, for example, a makeshift shelter with folding cot is set up within a storehouse. There they can also meet family; Poland was already home to about 2 million Ukrainians before the most recent Russian incursion.

Polish civilians have also sought to support the refugees. Locals in the Polish capital Warsaw have been advertising about 2500 apartments where refugees can stay. They have also flocked to reception centers offering transport or reception of refugees and their bringing DonATionS of food, water, clothes, sleeping bags, shoes, blankets, diapers, toys, sanitary products, battery packs and cell phone charging cables.

Private companies have also financed housing for Ukrainians. Airbnb, for example, has offered free short-term accommodation up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and is working with countries in the region to regulate long-term stays. There is also one online directory of hotels and inns that have openings for refugees.

Government, citizens and private companies will need to continue to increase capacity to prepare for more arrivals, but other EU countries have promised to share responsibility by also accepting refugees.

Ukrainian refugee population needs more humanitarian support in coming weeks

The needs of the Ukrainian refugee population in Europe are likely to increase only in the coming weeks and meeting these needs will require money.

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The UN, which has set up a Humanitarian Fund of Ukrainehas asked for a preliminary $ 550.6 million from member states, in addition to the $ 190 million she had already sought to help support reception efforts in neighboring countries. Humanitarian groups are still estimating the most pressing gaps in aid, but that money will go to housing, emergency aid items, cash aid, as well as mental health and psychosocial support for refugees.

For its part, the US has recently approved $ 54 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and Congress is considering issuing Another $ 2.9 billion. Every day that lawmakers think, however, delays the delivery of aid.

The European Commission has also said that its commitment to 90 million euros in aid on February 28 is just the beginning.

Until now, [the needs of Ukrainian refugees] have been met, though I am seriously concerned about the further possible escalation of the number of arrivals, Grandi said on Monday.