The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, said that the population density in the city has increased by 15% due to the arrival of refugees from Ukraine. According to him, the Polish capital is under enormous pressure.
“This is a huge pressure when it comes to city services — public transport, water, garbage collection, education,” the mayor said.
Trzaskovsky noted that the city’s spending on helping refugees is estimated at hundreds of millions of zlotys, and in a few months they could reach billions. Therefore, financial support is very important, the mayor stressed.
According to him, an international strategy is needed in this matter so that Poland can cope with the influx of refugees. Trzaskowski called on the authorities and European institutions to directly help local governments.
Since the beginning of the special operation, 2.885 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Poland. At least 1.5 million of them remained on the territory of the republic. There are now 300,000 Ukrainian citizens in two-million Warsaw. On March 16, the authorities began to register refugees, giving them identification numbers that allow them to legally live and work in the republic for 18 months, receive medical assistance, benefits, and send their children to educational institutions.