Warsaw mayor asks for more support, coordination on Ukraine refugees

The international community, Poland's government, and the Polish government must coordinate better, Warsaw's mayor stated on Thursday.

Rafal Trzaskowski (pictured) a member of the Civic Platform in Poland, stated in an interview that "we need the European Union" and "the United Nations to step in to really institute a full coordinating system."

He said that the government had to request such assistance, and only then would we be able to deal with the scale of the problem.

Warsaw and other major cities in Poland, such as Krakow or Wroclaw have taken thousands of refugees. Warsaw's population has grown by 15% since Russia invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2017.

With almost 3 million refugees arriving in Poland within two months, the country has been praised internationally for its handling.

Trzaskowski, who has been a critic of the Law and Justice (PiS), said that there should be a better pipeline for funding those at the frontlines of the crisis.

"We need immediate assistance because the government has no strategy. Trzaskowski stated that a lot of what you see in Poland comes down to improvisation.

In late 2019, Trzaskowski, along with a group of mayors representing central and eastern European cities, had requested more direct access to EU funding.

They consider themselves more pro-EU than their national governments. Some of these have clashed over EU standards and rules with Brussels.

Reuters was told by Pawel Szefernaker, Deputy Interior Minister, that the government is open to cooperating with charities and cities. They are also working hard to coordinate.

Szefernaker stated, "We are now at the end of the humanitarian assistance phase of the crisis" and that they are moving toward the adaptation phase. "We must work together."