1.8 million refugees reported seeking asylum in Eastern Europe

In a matter of days, the number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war exponentially grew in Eastern European countries.

In a news conference, a spokesperson for Germany’s Interior Ministery said that almost 150,000 people registered as refugees, but the number in Germany could be much higher. In early March, 50,000 Ukrainians arrived in Germany after terror by Russia began. Non-Ukrainians with permanent residence in Ukraine do not need to go through an asylum procedure. “But of course, people who are now fleeing the war zone can enter the EU, regardless of whether they are Ukrainian asylum seekers or third-country nationals,” the spokesperson said.

Since Russia invaded on February 24th, the total number of refugees fleeing Ukraine to European Union nationals rose to more than 2.8 million, according to the United Nations as of Monday. The astounding number certifies the event as Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. Neighbouring states such as Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova welcomed the vast majority of refugees while other refugees continued west for refuge from the escalating violence. Further from Ukraine, the Czech Republic has taken in tens of thousands of refugees, and Lithuania began receiving about one thousand refugees each day. Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu announced Germany will take 2,500 Ukrainians currently in Moldova.

“Europe and our country stands in solidarity with you. We will take refugees from you,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs. The united effort by European countries aiding refugees has piled pressure on local authorities and resources, but volunteers and international aid from Western Europe and the United States aim to help ease the strain.

Poland’s border guard said roughly 1.76 million people entered the country since the fighting began, with another 18,400 entering Monday morning. On Sunday, Russia attacked a Ukrainian base near Poland, a NATO member, killing 35 people and up to 180 “foreign mercenaries.” A large number of foreign weapons were reportedly destroyed during the attack. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, accompanied by his counterparts from Ukraine and Lithuania, said that the attack showed Russia wanted to “create panic among the civilian population.”

A refugee travelling with her mother to Warsaw said the attack was unexpected. “I just panicked and felt scared,” she said. Hundreds of volunteers, chefs and aid workers continue working tirelessly to support the influx of refugees. An international team of chefs in Przemsyl served thousands of meals daily to refugees entering Poland through the country’s busiest border crossing, Medyka. In Germany, nearly 2,000 meals were served to refugees at a youth education centre near Auschwitz, which is normally an area dedicated to honouring victims of the Holocaust and World War II.

“We do a lot of soups because it’s very cold and the refugees that are coming, they cannot carry like a big plate of food because they are carrying all their belongings,” said Clara, a volunteer chef for aid NGO World Central Kitchen. The director of the Lithuanian Red Cross, Kristina Meide said “most of these are women with small children, some with only a handbag for luggage.”

Convention centres and abandoned shopping malls became home to hundreds of temporary beds and make-shift canteens across Eastern Europe. Volunteers spend hours handing out hot drinks and SIM cards to refugees.

Russia denies targeting civilians, but video and military surveillance prove otherwise. “Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide area effects in or near populated areas,” said The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Liz Throssell. “These include missiles, heavy artillery shells and rockets, as well as airstrikes.”

Schools, hospitals and nurseries have been hit by shelling, according to Throssell. As of March 9th, the United Nations recorded 549 civilian deaths and 957 injuries, but the figure is likely considerably higher. “On 3 March, 47 civilians were killed when Russian airstrikes hit two schools and several apartment blocks in Chernihiv,” Throssell said. “On 9 March, a Russian airstrike hit Mariupol Hospital No.3, injuring at least 17 civilians. We spoke to different sources in Mariupol, including local authorities, indicating consistently that the hospital was both clearly identifiable and operational when it was hit.”

To date, the World Health Organization confirmed 29 attacks on health care facilities. Under international law, directing attacks at civilians and civilian objects are prohibited and may constitute war crimes if brought to an international court after the resolution of the war. While distributing food and medicine, the mayor of Hostomel in Ukraine was shot and killed by Russian forces, according to the local governments’ Facebook page.

However, Russia maintains that its actions are a “special operation” to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, while other countries are aware of Russia’s frustrations with Ukraine’s NATO status. Ukraine has applied to become a NATO member since 2008 but joined as part of the enhanced opportunity partner interoperability program, which does not imply official membership or impact decisions on Ukraine’s application. Russia has threatened international war if NATO officially enters the conflict, particularly through a no-fly zone.

Truces to cease fire long enough to evacuate civilians have frequently failed, but Ukraine and Russia reported progress on “hard” talks of a ceasefire, immediate troop withdrawal and security guarantees after early rounds of talks. Last week, negotiators ended the third round of talks with little progress, according to The Wall Street Journal. Ukraine began evacuating civilians through 10 humanitarian corridors, but millions of Ukrainians remain under attack. Russian forces continue conducting missile and rocket strikes on both civilian and military targets, disrupting the evacuation among the corridors, according to Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian military has held on along several fronts through counterattacks and sabotage operations supported by a myriad of countries.

“It has not been going easy and it’s too soon to talk of something positive,” Russia’s lead negotiator and Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said, according to a Russian news agency Interfax. Whether Russia’s goal is to completely takeover Ukraine or put pressure on the allied Western forces, millions of lives are endangered. There is no simple solution, despite the billions of dollars worth of embargos several countries have imposed against Russia. Through direct and indirect support of Ukraine and clear condemnation of Russian aggression, the international community has united, but there seems to be no end in sight to the conflict.

SOURCE: The Organisation for World Peace

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