In an article published on Monday, the Rzeczpospolita daily said that “neither the Polish nor the Ukrainian government wants a repeat of the situation when millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion crossed Poland's border after February 24."
Today, "there are about one million of them in Poland, mainly women and children, and another million have settled in Germany," the paper added.
More than 7.7 million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland during the last nine months, while 5.9 million have left Poland since February 24, according to the Polish Border Guard agency.
According to Rzeczpospolita, the Polish government, in a coordinated effort with Ukrainian authorities, is looking to build temporary housing centers for 20,000 internally displaced people within Ukraine.
The housing will be comprised of modular containers that can be easily transported and assembled, Poland’s Government Information Center has said. The first such center has been opened in Lviv.
In an interview with the daily, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker said that Warsaw and Kyiv were preparing for various scenarios although “the Ukrainian government is doing everything to keep Ukrainians at home.”
“Of course, the situation may vary because the approaching winter, as well as events related to the dynamics of the war, may cause more people to start coming to Poland,” Szefernaker stated.
Rzeczpospolita also reported that the government in Warsaw was still looking to help Ukrainians in Poland. Since the start of the invasion, Poland has already spent around PLN 5.5 billion (USD 1.21 bn) on accommodation, benefits and food for Ukrainian refugees, according to the paper.
But the daily said the Polish government “admits it can no longer afford such extensive support, so from February refugees are expected to contribute to the cost of living – PLN 40 (USD 9) per day, and then PLN 60 for accommodation."
(jh/gs)
Source: Rzeczpospolita, PAP