Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about two million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland, of whom 200,000 have taken the train to reach other EU countries.
Mirosław Siemieniec, a spokesman for the Polish Railway Lines (PLK), announced that more than 140,000 Ukrainian refugees were transported by almost 400 regular trains, while another 45,000 people used 113 additional trains, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Most have gone on to Berlin, but some have also travelled to Prague and Vienna,” he also added.
Refugees fleeing Ukraine because of the war are permitted to travel by train without having to pay for tickets for both, regional and international, trains in several European countries.
On March 15, Poland’s State Railway company PKP also announced that all citizens fleeing Ukraine would be offered free tickets to travel to Germany.
PKP stressed that Ukrainians can travel for free with the second class of the nine daily trains that connect the cities of Poland, Warsaw, Przemyśl, and Gdynia with the German capital Berlin and Frankfurt.
Meanwhile, many other people have left Poland for other countries by car or plane, although there are no available figures since it includes visa-free travel within the Schengen area.
According to recent data from the United Nations, more than 2.1 million refugees coming from Ukraine have crossed into Poland since the war started.
According to the Polish authorities, waiting points have been organised throughout Poland for persons fleeing Ukraine, revealing that there are already a total of 27 waiting points for these people.
On the contrary, the Border Guard Service reported that some 274,000 people had fled Poland and returned to their home country, Ukraine, since the start of the war, in spite of the dangerous situation in this country.
Neighbouring countries that have also opened their doors to receive refugees from Ukraine are Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.
The figures provided by the United Nations shows that the current number of Ukrainian refugees in these countries is as follows:
• Hungary (324,397)
• Moldova (371,104)
• Slovakia (256,838)
• Romania (555,021)
As the war continues, people are likely to move from temporary shelters to the border. By March 21, more than 225,000 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in Germany.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has announced that about 10 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine due to the Russian occupation, with about 3.5 million fleeing the country.
It is mainly women and children who have fled, given that Ukraine restricts men aged 18 to 60 from leaving.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
