Ukraine’s refugees find long-term support in Europe’s host countries

By Tarik Argaz in Krakow, Poland, and Yelena Sim in Humenné, Slovakia  |  30 March 2023

As the crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine transforms from an acute emergency characterised by sudden, massive displacement, into a long-term refugee situation, host countries in Europe are stepping up to meet the social and financial commitment of hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees.

In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners stepped in to fill the gap, to ensure refugees from Ukraine received the initial support they needed, including cash, shelter, and information. But as the war moves into its second year, host countries are now incorporating Ukrainian refugees into their existing national social support systems, ensuring sustainable assistance for the long term.

When Darya, a 36-year-old mother of two, arrived in Poland from the bombed city of Zaporizhzhia last March she was one of some 300,000 Ukrainian refugees who received cash assistance of up to 700 Polish zloty (US $157) per person each month from UNHCR, to meet their immediate needs for a period of three months. “I used it to cover our everyday expenses. I could buy things my children needed, like food, clothes, or toys. Everything they needed,” Darya says.

• See also: Cash offers a lifeline to refugees from Ukraine arriving in Poland

Today, the family lives in an apartment in the southern city of Krakow where Darya’s son Artyom, 4, and daughter Anastasiia, 6, attend a local government school, while Darya has found work at a car parts factory.

Despite missing their home – and their father who stayed behind in Ukraine – the children have settled into their new lives. Anastasiia even “speaks Polish very well already”, Darya says.

“I did the right thing coming to Poland, because here you can find work, make friends and acquaintances that will help you in all they can, and there are volunteers who will help you too,” says Darya. “It’s all good,” she says, but adds: “We hope we’ll be able to return home one day.”

Albina, a 77-year-old retired factory worker from the industrial city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, fled to Slovakia last March with her daughter Viktoria, son-in-law Viktor, and grandson Yevhen. They are some of the 100,000 who have been granted temporary protection by the government, in line with an EU-wide directive that gives those fleeing the war in Ukraine access to social services and the labour market without having to go through lengthy asylum procedures.

“We are very grateful to Slovakia for receiving us,” she says. “We have a place to live, we have food. What is most important is that here we live in peace and safety.”