REPORT

Ukraine: update on the refugee issue, under discussion in the EU

Ukrainian refugees at the Medyka border post, February 26.

AP - Visar Kryeziu

Text by: RFI Follow

6 mins

The European Ministers of the Interior are meeting urgently, this Sunday, February 27 in Brussels, to discuss the reception of Ukrainians trying to flee the Russian offensive.

There is talk of granting them possible automatic temporary protection.

According to the UN, there are a total of 368,000 refugees at the moment, including 187,000 from Poland alone.

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• In Medyka, refugees are trickling into Poland

At the Medyka border post, in southwestern Poland, where thousands of Ukrainians are thronging, it is becoming increasingly difficult to cross over to the Polish side, explains our special correspondent on the spot,

.

Ukraine is only 500 meters away, but to cross this

, it sometimes takes more than a day.

The images reaching us from the other side show lines of cars and buses stretching for several kilometres.

You no longer need a passport to enter Poland, only an identity card is enough.

But the authorities check each vehicle, which means that these cars arrive and enter Polish territory in a trickle.

A little further, families, mainly women and children, cross the border on foot, loaded with luggage, after a long journey.

Anita comes from eastern Ukraine, from Berdyansk, a city on the Sea of ​​Azov more than 1,300 kilometers away.

It took us a total of four days by train.

It was very difficult !

There were tanks at our place, in Prymorsk and shelling.

From Lviv, 80 kilometers from here, we were then taken by car to the border.

Afterwards, we had to walk forty minutes and we waited three hours, before being able to cross.

Now we want peace, that there is no war.

We want to be able to sleep peacefully

On the Polish side, the displaced can count on impressive solidarity on the side of the road: hot drinks, food, tons of clothes... But here, the Medyka border post is only a stage on the way to exile.

Some are welcomed by relatives.

For the others, buses and car volunteers are there to pick them up and accompany them to a warm place, where they can recover, before continuing their journey, heading for the major Polish cities or the west of Europe.

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• Germany and Austria make trains free for all Ukrainians

Some 368,000 refugees have fled fighting in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Thursday.

More than half of them have entered Poland, and their number " 

 ", the United Nations and Warsaw said on Sunday.

The other border countries such as Moldova, Hungary or even Slovakia, for example, are also places of retreat.

Germany is allowing all Ukrainian refugees from Poland to travel free on long-distance trains from this Sunday.

An announcement from Germany's state-owned railway company: " 

 ", if refugees Ukrainians, fleeing the war, are arriving in droves, Bahn explained in a press release.

Also this Sunday, Austria announced to do the same.

Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler tweeted that she had reached an agreement with the state-owned company ÖBB so that Ukrainians fleeing their country could use the company's trains without a ticket.

►Read also: Germany announces increase in military spending

• In Romania, solidarity is organized and fear of Russia is felt

Another neighboring country where Ukrainian refugees are flocking in numbers, reception is being organized in Romania, thanks to government aid, but also that of citizens, reports

, journalist with the Romanian service of RFI in Bucharest.

According to the Romanian authorities, 47,000 Ukrainians have already returned to the national territory.

About 22,000 have already left, they have just passed through the country in order to reach other places, where they have family.

Apparently there would be a 24 hour wait due to the stream.

But the feeling of solidarity, of empathy, is enormous.

The Romanian government has announced that it will send oil, bulletproof vests, other equipment worth 3 million euros.

Bucharest has also announced that hospitals in Romania will be available to treat war wounded.

The continuation of the conflict begins to worry the Romanian population.

Some are afraid that the country, a member of NATO, is drawn into the conflict.

People think a lot about what will happen if Ukraine does not resist: will Romania be attacked itself?

President Klaus Iohannis tried to tell the people that Romania was not going to be dragged into this war, but no one knows what Vladimir Putin's intentions are if he succeeds in conquering Ukraine.

People are scared, some have started to stock up.

►Read again: Crisis around Ukraine, an American detachment is in Romania

• The question of refugees at the center of discussions in the European Union

“ 

 ,” said French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, arriving at the meeting in Brussels with his counterparts.

It is a question, he specifies, " 

 " of welcoming them "

", and then to see how also, in Europe , “ 

 ” provided for in the framework of a 2001 directive, he adds.

The French refers to the regime instituted following the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, never used.

It provides for the granting of temporary protection in the event of a massive influx of displaced persons, and measures to distribute the reception effort between EU countries.

" 

," said Mr. Darmanin.

Belgium is in favor of it.

" 

," reacted the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Sammy Mahdi.

 ,” he said.

" 

 ," agrees Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, adding that she too would make a proposal along these lines.

"

 ", comments the Swedish Minister for Integration and Migration, Anders Ygeman.

For now, Ukrainian citizens can already enter the EU without a visa for a period of three months.

►Read also: Banning the Swift network, a decisive weapon against Russia?

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