Michał Dworczyk, a top aide to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, told reporters that “everyone escaping the war will be received in Poland.”
He said: “Everyone seeking help in Poland will be able to receive it.” He added that "this includes people without passports," the state PAP news agency reported.
Dworczyk told the media that queues at Poland’s border crossings with Ukraine were “stretching for more than 6 kilometres” on Friday, with the Russian invasion driving an ever larger number of Ukrainians to flee abroad.
Nine reception centres
Meanwhile, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker said that "only a small percentage" of those crossing the border were arriving in reception centres set up by the government in the east of the country.
Szefernaker told public broadcaster Polish Radio that Poland’s Border Guard and other agencies “will do everything to help refugees from Ukraine cross into Poland, while looking after the security of our country."
He added that "the majority of the arrivals" were "heading to Poland or other European Union countries," Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Poland has so far set up nine reception centres for people fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of the country, according to officials.
These sites, designed to provide aid to refugees, are located in Poland's eastern Lubelskie and Podkarpackie regions, which border Ukraine, reporters were told.
Image: gov.pl
Financial, legal, medical aid for refugees
Meanwhile, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin has asked state-run companies to assist Ukrainians who arrive in the country after abandoning their homes amid the Russian invasion.
Sasin, who is also Poland’s state assets minister, wrote on Twitter on Friday: “Putin’s brutal regime has caused people to lose roofs over their heads and a sense of security."
He added: “Our Ukrainian neighbours need real support today.”
Also on Friday, Poland's Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg ordered the country's labour offices to fast-track work-permit procedures for Ukrainian nationals.
According to the Office for Foreigners, over 300,000 Ukrainians were residing legally in Poland at the end of 2021, accounting for almost 57 percent of foreign nationals based in the country, the IAR news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced that Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion would receive “the widest possible care,” including COVID-19 vaccinations for those who haven’t been inoculated so far.
“It’s an expression of our concern for the welfare of our closest neighbours,” Niedzielski told the PAP news agency.
To receive the vaccine, Ukrainian refugees will only have to produce an ID document, such as a permanent or temporary ID card or a passport, according to PAP.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl