European countries braced for influx of refugees over Ukraine crisis

Warnings come as fear of all-out war grows

Central and eastern European countries said they were making preparations for an influx of refugees from Ukraine, as fear of an all-out war with Russia grew following Moscow’s decision to recognise the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Nations in the region said they were braced for potentially millions of people to be displaced if a war begins. Poland, which is home to between 1 million and 2 million Ukrainians, said it was preparing for a worst-case scenario.

The Czech Republic’s prime minister, Petr Fiala, told the country’s parliament on Tuesday that the situation in Ukraine could prompt a refugee crisis.

Romania, which also shares a long border with Ukraine, finalised a refugee plan on Sunday, interior minister Lucian Bode said.

Slovakia’s defence minister said that there may be tens of thousands of refugees even under a limited conflict. Interior minister Robert Mikulec said the government was in close contact with the authorities in Ukraine.

Hungary, which has over 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine, is also making preparations.

Prime minister Viktor Orban raised the possibility of hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving in the case of war.

“Think back to the 1990s, when tens of thousands of people arrived from the former Yugoslav territories. That was not easy either but many more would come from Ukraine, probably with no hope of return,” he said.

The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have also said they were preparing to accept refugees. Lithuania said it expected refugees to come mainly from Poland and on flights.

The three nations issued a joint statement condemning Russia’s recognition of independence for two separatist regions of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Poland said Nato’s eastern flank needed to be reinforced. Mr Duda also called for severe sanctions against Russia. And the Czech Republic said it may deploy troops under Nato to Slovakia or Romania.

Leaders of Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro in the war-scarred Balkans condemned Russia’s decision to recognise the breakaway territories.

Montenegrin president Milo Djukanovic, who led the small Adriatic state to Nato membership in 2017 despite strong opposition from Russia, said: “Montenegro confirms its unanimous support of the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders”.