EU state asks Poland to halt Ukrainian refugee trains – minister
Poland’s Deputy Interior Minister, Pavel Shefernaker, told news channel TVN24 on Monday that Warsaw has been asked to stop sending Ukrainian refugees by train to Germany, as Berlin struggles to cope with the influx of people fleeing conflict.
“Last night I spoke with the German Interior Ministry, where we were asked to suspend special trains that go to Germany, because there is already a bottleneck situation there,” Shefernaker said.
The Polish minister claimed that 28,000 had left Poland by train in just three days, while around 1.5 million refugees remain behind, needing countries to provide them a location to temporarily resettle while the conflict continues.
Despite the request from Germany, Shefernaker reminded nations that “we must all support each other,” adding that Poland is counting on “this European solidarity” to overcome the crisis. Some 15,000 Ukrainians are arriving in Berlin every day, according to German media.
According to the United Nations (UN), more than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine after Russia’s military attacked on February 24, saying its goal was to demilitarize and “denazify” the country and protect the Donbass republics. Refugees are crossing daily into neighboring countries, including Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, before moving on to other nations in pursuit of safety.
