Thousands of asylum-seekers could leave Ukraine

The Ukrainian-Russian conflict has been making headlines for some time. While many people hoped that the threats will not be actualised, a Russian invasion of Ukraine seems to be a realistic event in the near future.

In the past, there have been numerous talks about the preparation for the possible outcome if Russia invades Ukraine. Now the scenario seems more realistic than ever. Several political leaders project that thousands of refugees will possibly flee Ukraine hoping to seek refuge or transit to other countries.

As Daily News Hungary reported, Hungary would be indirectly affected by the invasion. Although the country is unlikely to openly interfere with military actions, Hungary could help Ukraine with logistics, food transport or healthcare. Furthermore, commerce with Russia could be put on hold.

 As it turns out, the wave of refugees fleeing Ukraine could be the next urgent issue Europe will have to deal with.

“In the event of war, hundreds of thousands, even millions, of refugees would arrive from Ukraine and fundamentally redraw the political and economic situation in Hungary. […] We are hoping for peace, but of course, the designated state bodies have started the preparation. Even in the event of a war, we have an appropriate scenario and action plan. ” hvg.hu quoted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Prime Minister said this in his annual assessment speech on Saturday.

In Ukraine, there are 130,000 Hungarians living as a minority group, who will be greatly affected if the situation deteriorates. The Ministry of Defense has constructed an evacuation plan “to help Hungarian citizens and, if necessary, citizens of other nations get out of Ukraine.”

Other states are also considering the evacuation of citizens.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs in Israel said that Jewish citizens of Ukraine should return to Israel before the situation gets worse. The evacuation of Jewish people from Ukraine is also among their plans. If evacuation proves to be inevitable, people could leave the country through Poland, Romania, Moldova or Slovakia.

In the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine, up to one million refugees could arrive in Poland.  The country is currently preparing to take in refugees. – writes Hello Magyar. The Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration has been preparing “infrastructure and plans” for weeks. The news portal reports that Poland is getting ready for a potentially large wave of refugees seeking safe asylum due to the possible conflict.

Read alsoPM Orbán: “Ukraine’s independence and viability a vested Hungarian interest”

Source: DNH, HVG