Polish aid to Ukraine in figures and facts. The report was presented in Kiev

The Union of Associations, the Confederation of Non-Governmental Initiatives of the Republic of Poland, has prepared a report containing information on the participation of Polish non-governmental organizations in the implementation of projects and initiatives aimed at supporting Ukrainians since the beginning of the complete crisis. -scale Russian invasion. The report was presented in Kiev on December 7.

The document presents the support for Ukraine by Polish non-governmental organizations in figures and facts. For more than thirty years, Poland has been advocating for Ukraine to be rooted in the Western political system through its integration with structures such as the EU and NATO. Since the beginning of Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine, Poland has been and continues to be Ukraine’s partner.

How many refugees from Ukraine live in Poland?

In the period from February 24, 2022 to June 30, 2023, almost 24 million people were registered at the Polish-Ukrainian border. Nearly one and a half million people, of which approximately 90 percent – ​​women and children – live in Poland. As many as 968,617 Ukrainians with temporary protection in Poland have active PESEL numbers. About 180,000 children from Ukraine attend Polish educational institutions.

Already in the first days of the war, the Polish legislature noticed that the need to accept refugees into our country on an unprecedented scale made it necessary to adapt the law to their needs. On March 12, 2022, the Law on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of this Country was adopted. The adoption of this law resolved a number of urgent issues regarding aid to Ukrainians, in particular:

• assigning a PESEL number;

• the right to work without a permit;

• receiving monetary and non-monetary assistance;

• the right to use educational institutions;

• exemption from fees for educational services in part-time studies or foreign language studies for students;

• right to medical assistance, etc.

Legal assistance to Ukrainians in Poland was provided by a number of non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights. Scouts and sports organizations also provided assistance to Ukrainian citizens by organizing training for young players from our eastern neighbor. Many activities were also undertaken by church, business and self-help organizations (such as volunteer fire brigades and rural women’s groups).

The large-scale war in Ukraine has led to an unprecedented unification of Polish civil society around this tragedy and the effective cooperation of non-governmental organizations with local government authorities and other parties towards effective and coordinated solutions in the field of freight and passenger logistics , medical logistical and psychological assistance, in collaboration with relevant partners in Ukraine.

Aid worth more than PLN 600 million

According to data collected by the Polish Central Bureau of Statistics, as of the end of March 2022, 28.8 thousand people were involved in assistance related to the hostilities in Ukraine. (29.6%) Entities of the social economy (social economy). They provided people in need with material support worth an estimated PLN 511 million and financial support amounting to PLN 140 million. 29.8 percent of all civil society organizations (almost 29 thousand entities) have taken action in this area.

As citizens, Poles showed solidarity and willingness to help the Ukrainians.