Poland has an opportunity to emerge from this refugee crisis a more united, more accepting and economically strong society, but first they need to have tough conversations about immigration.
It took Soviet Russia five decades to come clean about Katyn.
EPA/Wojciech Pacewicz
The Russian embassy in Vilnius now sits on Ukrainian Heroes’ Street (Ukrainos Didvyrių g.), a direct response to the war.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, takes part in a service at Vladimirskaya Gorka in Kyiv in July 2012, part of anniversary celebrations of the christening of the country known as Kyivan Rus by its grand prince Vladimir I in 988AD.
Reuters/Alamy
Given Poland’s long stance against immigrants and refugees, it might not always be a warm welcome for Ukrainians.
People who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside an indoor gymnasium being used as a refugee centre in the village of Medyka, a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.
(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
The European Union is once again faced with the danger of destabilization. Putin’s cyberwar on free societies using the migration crisis went well in 2015. He must not succeed now in Poland or beyond.
African residents in Ukraine wait at Lviv railway station on Feb. 27, 2022. The Ukraine refugee crisis revealed deep-seated racism as racialized and Black refugees from Ukraine were treated differently.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
The racism seen in the Ukraine refugee crisis reflects a long legacy of how the West defines who is human. We need a new definition that respects the dignity of all humans.
The historic centre of Lviv has been listed as a Unesco world heritage site since 1998.
AlexelA | Alamy Stock Photo
Senior politicians accuse the west of ignoring their warnings for years.
Ukrainian soldiers move U.S.-made Stinger missiles that were shipped from Lithuania to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 13, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented outpouring of humanitarian and military aid. Protecting those supply chains is essential for delivering materiel to the frontlines.
The monument to Catherine II (Catherine the Great) in Pushkin, Russia.
(Shutterstock)
Is Catherine the Great a source of inspiration to Vladimir Putin? Her actions in Poland throughout her reign are remarkably similar to Putin’s designs on Ukraine.
MiG-29 aircraft: Ukrainian pilots are trained on these but they would not beat Russian air defences.
EPA-EFE/Sergei Ilnitsky
Nato is worried that providing material assistance to Ukraine will be interpreted as an act of war.
Refugees who are foreign nationals, especially those from the Middle East, Asia and Africa are being discriminated against at the borders.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
We must demand safety for all refugees, not just Ukrainian nationals.
This painting by Russian artist Alexei Danilovich Kivshenko depicts the ceremonial pledge of allegiance by Ukrainian Cossacks to the Tsar of Russia in 1654.
Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Money is a far more effective way of helping the hundreds of thousands of refugees than sending food or clothing.
A military vehicle destroyed on Feb. 18, 2022, by an explosion in Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian separatists.
Nikolai Trishin\TASS via Getty Images
Attacking your own side and blaming your foe has a long history and a firm grip on the popular imagination. But the internet makes it difficult to pull off – and less desirable.
The Berezinsky Reserve in Belarus is one of the few corners of the European portion of the southern taiga that is in pristine condition.
Denis Ivkovich/Unesco