H.E. Ms Anna Sochaska:

Most of these people - 1.7 million people - are in Poland. Even before the war, 1 million Ukrainians were already living in Poland but they were people who came to Poland because of our rather liberal policy. They work and study in Poland and are very well integrated. This was also a very important factor in terms of receiving this flow of refugees. I know some people left Poland but I do not have the exact numbers. I suppose the majority of them stay in Poland.

It will be a significant burden on the Polish health sector and not just in terms of Covid. We offer those people free access to our health system, education, the labour market etc. so the demand will be huge. I have not heard about a sharp increase in cases of Covid but I suppose it is a risk. It could happen.

When I heard about the rise in ticket prices, I was shocked. My first reaction was that I would need to contact Ryanair asking it to change its policy because there are so many airlines that do not do such things. If somebody tries to use a situation involving very vulnerable people to make a profit, it is really disgraceful. We all agree it should not take place.