Poland in Denmark

Situation on Polish-Ukrainian border
Since 24 February 575,152 persons crossed Polish-Ukrainian border. On 1 March, 98,077 people entered Poland from Ukraine, on 2 March - 94,958.

They are predominantly citizens of Ukraine, but among persons who enter Poland are citizens of India, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, the US, Georgia and other countries. The Polish Border Guard verifies identity of all admitted persons. All the people fleeing Ukraine regardless of their nationality or country of origin are welcomed in Poland.

Measures to facilitate refugee reception 
Poland set up 27 reception points for refugees. Eight are located at border crossings, the rest are located in major Polish cities. Reception points provide medical assistance, food and information. 

Refugees can also get relevant information at 22 information points across Poland.

Poland introduced a simplified procedure for refugees, allowing persons without travel documents to cross the border.

Refugees are exempted from all COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine.

Humanitarian aid
Poland launched a humanitarian coordination mechanism in order to streamline the activities of the government, international agencies, local authorities and civil society. On 28 February, a large hub for humanitarian aid was launched near the city of Lublin, run by the Government’s Strategic Reserves Agency. The hub receives aid intended for Ukraine that will further be distributed to people in need.

Special hospital train provides medical assistance to the refugees.

The government set up a website to coordinate humanitarian aid for Ukraine - PomagamUkrainie, a dedicated hot line and website ua.gov.pl for refugees.

Legalization of stay and work in Poland
All displaced persons have access to free medical care and Polish health care services.

Refugees do not need to register at reception points or worry about formalities.

Citizens of Ukraine residing in Poland do not have to leave the country in the event of expiry of their residence permits. The legality of their stay will be extended.

Ukrainian citizens can benefit from the employment services free of charge. It is estimated that the Polish market may provide jobs for 200,000 foreigners in the short term, and in the longer term - even up to 700,000. The procedure of issuing work permits has been simplified and their validity extended.

Education for children
Ukrainian pupils and students (from 7 to 18 years of age) can be admitted to public schools and provided with care and education on the basis of general rules.

Polish position on the Russian aggression
Poland utterly condemns the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and - as a neighboring country as well as a member of NATO and the EU - stands by Ukraine. 

Poland strongly supports Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Recently, President Andrzej Duda proposed an expedited path for Ukraine to join European Union.

Polish embassy in Kiev and the consulate general in Lviv are still active in Ukraine. Ambassador Bartosz Cichocki and his staff facilitate and coordinate contacts and cooperation between Poland and Ukraine. Consulate General in Lviv provides assistance to Poles, Ukrainians and citizens of other counties. 

Sanctions on Russia
Poland strongly advocates for the most far-reaching sanctions. On 1 March, Polish Prime Minister called on the European Commission to ban import of coal, gas and oil from Russia. Poland calls for complete stop of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 projects. 

Poland is developing regional gas interconnectivity in order to reduce reliance on Russian gas. Polish-Lithuanian interconnector (GIPL) is scheduled to open on 1 May 2022. The gas pipeline is expected to reach its full capacity on 1 October. It is expected that interconnector will have a transmission capacity of 2.5 BCM per year towards Lithuania and 2 BCM per year towards Poland.

The Baltic Pipe, transmitting gas from Norway to Denmark and Poland, is expected to be operational with partial capacity from 1 October 2022 and full capacity as of 1 January 2023. This will allow Poland to become fully independent from the Russian gas. 

Polish-Ukrainian relations
Around 1.3 million Ukrainians lived in Poland before the Russian invasion of Ukraine (64% of all foreigners living in Poland). Almost 84% of Ukrainians in Poland have a temporary residence permit, which may be valid for a maximum of 3 years. The vast majority of these permits are issued in connection with taking up employment - 77% of cases. The other most common reasons for staying in Poland are family links (12%) and education (2%).

Ukrainian migration to Poland intensified in 2014 - after the Revolution of Dignity, annexation of Crimea by Russia, and conflict in Donbas - mainly due to deteriorating economic situation in Ukraine. Poland introduced a visa-free regime and easier access to the Polish labour market.

Counteracting disinformation
The media have become major theatre of war. Poland is witnessing an increased disinformation activity in the context of the refugee crisis.

Poland helps everyone regardless of the country of origin. The help of unprecedented scale is provided by the Polish society, private sector, the state and local authorities.

The government is in constant contact with foreign diplomatic missions to ensure the safety of their citizens fleeing the territory of Ukraine.

We notice radicalisation of the anti-refugee rhetoric, mostly originating from internet troll farms previously operating on anti-Covid channels. The fake news about crimes committed by refugees are spread with the aim to instigate hostility toward the victims of war. 

We observed that some Danish and international media reported on hostility towards the refugees of non-Ukrainian origin or mistreatment of non-white refugees in Poland. Evidence shows that these reports focused on isolated incidents and misrepresent the facts on the ground. More than half a million people have crossed the Polish border since 24 February. All the people fleeing Ukraine regardless of their nationality or country of origin are welcomed in Poland. All displaced persons have access to free medical care. The Polish government received official expressions of gratitude from representatives of Angola, Tanzania, Morocco, Kenya and South Africa, among others.

See UNHCR report on the refugee crisis: UNHCR - People across Poland show solidarity with refugees from Ukraine

A special alert service has been set up in Poland to report disinformation on the Internet. Since Russia's aggression, we monitor content posted in Polish social media, report and react to disinformation on an ongoing basis.

 

Picture: MFA