Millions more could arrive in Poland if the front line shifts to the west, Andrzej Szejna has said
Poland must be ready to accept even more Ukrainian refugees from the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna warned in an interview with the Rzeczpospolita news outlet on Monday.
Since the launch of Russia’s military offensive in 2022, Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in the EU. Besides supplying arms and munitions, it has also taken in an estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees.
At the same time, Warsaw has refused demands from Brussels to accept asylum seekers that have flooded Europe in recent years from regions like North Africa and the Middle East.
Newly-installed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose pro-EU coalition ousted the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party from power last month, has signaled that his government will not change this approach.
Deputy Minister Szejna stated that the “fundamental reason” that Poland “cannot be burdened with additional responsibilities in the area of migration” is because it already has its hands full with Ukrainian refugees.