Arnout, where are you now?
‘I am now at the border town of Krościenko, one of the southernmost points of the Polish-Ukrainian border. It is one of eight border crossings and is located in the middle of the Bieszczady Mountains. Normally there is only one border crossing that you can cross on foot, now all eight have been opened by the Polish government. That was necessary, because on the Ukrainian side of the border there are kilometers long queues, I understand.’
What’s it like on the Polish side of the border?
‘There are a lot of people here who come to pick up refugee Ukrainians. Friends and family, but also volunteers. There are shelters where people can get food, drink and medical help.
‘You are in the heart of Europe and you see large groups of European refugees. And there will only be more. The pressure on borders is increasing. In the 24 hours before Friday, according to the Polish authorities, 30,000 people fled, compared to 120 thousand on Saturday afternoon. And then I now see mainly women and children crossing the border, because men between the ages of 18 and 60 are no longer allowed to leave Ukraine. The system beeps and creaks, but still holds. Poland takes into account five million refugees. On a population of 40 million people, that would be very drastic.
“The Polish government has made it easier for the Ukrainians. Restrictive measures such as passports and a vaccination certificate have been removed. The bottleneck really seems to be with the Ukrainian border guard. Most refugees I speak to have taken at least 24 hours to cross the border.’
What do the people you talk to say?
“They’re very scared. They left their belongings behind and took only necessary things with them. And sometimes not even that.’
‘There are a million Ukrainians living in Poland, even more if you include seasonal workers. So many refugees have relatives here. But there are also plenty who have left without a plan. They are received at the border. The idea is that they will go further into Poland and then the shelter will end up on the shoulders of the local population.
“The help from the Polish people is overwhelming. Social media is full of initiatives to offer food, water, clothing and a place to stay. The solidarity is enormous.’
How come, do you think?
‘You see solidarity in more places, for example in Moldova. Even President Viktor Orbán of Hungary, who always takes firm stances on migration, has said that Ukrainians are hosted there.
‘Yet the solidarity here in Poland is very strong. Ukraine is a neighboring country. There is a large shared past, also with black pages. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe are always very suspicious of Russian aggression.
‘There is also a lot of unrest here, because the war is very close. With all the refugees, it is already here. Poland may belong to the EU, but nobody knows what else Putin is capable of. If you ask Poland what the future holds, they say: ‘I don’t know, because I’m not Putin.’ I spoke to a man who already has his suitcase ready. “If you live near the border, you should always be ready to leave,” he said.
‘Poles themselves have had to flee often enough. They therefore find it only logical to help Ukrainian refugees now.’
Have Puttingist presidents in your region turned a corner in their attitude towards the Kremlin?
Miloš Zeman of the Czech Republic was notoriously pro-Russia. It’s turned 180 degrees. He has said he was wrong and called Putin an idiot. He strongly condemns the attacks and has opted for the sharpest possible sanctions. He said around lunchtime on Thursday that we should stop using the payment system Swift as soon as possible.
Orban is a different story. On the one hand, he says that Hungary supports the EU and NATO. But he also says that it is not up to Hungary to go further than that. He is more wary of hard positions taken by other government leaders in Europe.
Orban needs Putin too. He was in Moscow three weeks ago to talk about gas. He keeps gas prices artificially low, but he doesn’t want them to go through the roof just before the upcoming elections. That will cost him votes. With that, Orbán also has a very big domestic problem.’