Refugees from Ukraine, Caucasus seek protection in Poland

The EU has been pressing Poland to accept around 2,600 refugees from the Middle East. At the same time, according to Rzeczpospolita, almost 3,500 people have filed for refuge in the country. The majority of those are residents of Chechnya, Ukraine and Georgia. Many have already crossed into the country illegally through the Western border.

The majority of the migrants are Chechens. Many are women choosing to emigrate after their husbands had been killed in Chechnya or men who want to join their families in the West. The majority of Georgians choose to relocate to Poland for economic reasons. Ukrainians are escaping Russian aggression and mandatory military service.

Poland, however, has been hesitant to accept refugees from Ukraine, granting applications to only a handful. Officials stress that the Ukrainian government should make appropriate arrangements to relocate residents of unstable areas to other parts of Ukraine.

Applications from Middle Eastern countries are still far and few in between; only 52 refugees from the Middle East arrived at the Polish border this year.

Additional beds in refugee centers had been prepared in anticipation of the conflict in Ukraine.