Polish government says aid for Ukrainian refugees to be cut

Poland will start cutting aid for Ukrainian refugees next year. This was announced by a representative of the Polish government, Piotr Müller, in an interview with PAP.

Speaking about the reduction of support, he referred to a Pollster Research Institute survey published by Super Express on Wednesday.

It says that Poles' enthusiasm for financial aid to Ukrainian refugees has decreased, with only 26 per cent of respondents answering in the affirmative and 60 per cent saying "definitely not" or "probably not".

The decisions taken after the war started are temporary, and that's all I can say," he said.

The representative of the Polish government pointed out that the stage of mass departure of Ukrainians abroad was over, so "these decisions are gradually losing their force, as it is stipulated in the decision that they will not be continued".

He also suggested that the support will start to decrease in the second quarter of 2024. According to him, support for refugees, which includes waiving residency and work permit requirements, free access to schools, medical care and family benefits, will not be continued in 2024.

We would like to point out that the day before, the European Commission proposed to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians who fled Russia's aggression against Ukraine from 4 March 2024 to 3 March 2025.