While the 1951 Refugee Convention has just completed its 70th year of existence, conceived as a consequence of the Second World War, Europe is again facing a severe refugee crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Russia’s efforts to take over Ukraine’s major cities to overthrow the country’s democratically elected regime have resulted in one of the largest refugee spillovers of the present decade. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to remove the NATO’s presence—be it in the form of military infrastructure or military forces in close proximity to Russian borders—led him to launch one of the biggest military interventions ever to have taken place on European soil since the conclusion of the Second World War.
About 660,000 refugees have already made their way into Ukraine’s neighbouring states since last week, with many other Ukrainian nationals still continuing to seek asylum in the Central European states of Czechia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, and Slovakia.
Poland as a safe land
Reports suggest that Poland has witnessed the highest number of Ukrainian refugee arrivals, in comparison to its other European neighbours. The people of Ukraine have flocked to Poland via eight border points—amongst which, primary border points such as Korchova- Krakivets and Medyka—have witnessed a large volume of women and child refugees.
Polish citizens and organisations such as the Red Cross have been deeply involved in efforts directed towards the provision of relief materials in the form of warm clothes, blankets, and water at Red Cross stations situated near the Ukraine-Poland border.
Polish authorities have relaxed border restrictions, and have also exempted the fleeing Ukrainians from showing their COVID-19 test reports. Those without any valid documents have also been granted safe passage, given the severity of the situation. However, this move on part of the Polish government has raised serious health concerns since Ukraine recently experienced a surge in COVID cases in the month of February, where data itself has gone on to show that 60 percent of the COVID-19 tests that were conducted in the country, came out positive.
Polish citizens and organisations such as the Red Cross have been deeply involved in efforts directed towards the provision of relief materials in the form of warm clothes, blankets, and water at Red Cross stations situated near the Ukraine-Poland border. The Polish Red Cross has also been engaging in fund-raising campaigns to raise funds and assist the Ukrainian refugees.
Romania’s silent stance
Since last week, data put forward by the Romanian government suggests that 67,000 Ukrainians fled to Romania, seeking shelter in the wake of the recent Russian invasion. The Siret border crossing, for instance, witnessed a large number of women and children refugees. The Ukrainian government’s move towards conscripting males aged 18-60 following a Presidential decree, has prevented a large section of Ukrainian male refugees from crossing over with their families, leaving women and children to fend for themselves.
Though the Romanian government has shown solidarity with the Ukrainian government by guaranteeing help in the form of cyber security backing, it has not been very active in providing for the accommodation of the country’s refugees. Rather, the Romanian citizenry has engaged in efforts to accommodate their immediate neighbours by means of social media. Citizens have formed a Facebook group called ‘Uniti Pentru Ucraina’ (or United for Ukraine) and it already has more than 242,000 members comprising of volunteers, donors, and Ukrainians on the run, in search of help.
Slovaks open their homes
The Slovakia–Ukraine border (97 kilometres) is one of the shortest in comparison to the Ukraine–Poland border (535 kilometres) and Ukraine–Romania (600 kilometre). Nonetheless, it has still witnessed huge refugee flows from Ukraine as a visa-free regime exists between Slovakia and Ukraine which enables one to reside in the country for a period of up to 90 days. Data indicates that around 26,000 Ukrainian citizens have fled to Slovakia since 24 February.
The Ukrainian government’s move towards conscripting males aged 18-60 following a Presidential decree, has prevented a large section of Ukrainian male refugees from crossing over with their families, leaving women and children to fend for themselves.
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