France is expected to flex its muscle as president of the Council of the European Union to resuscitate an unused law making it easier for Ukrainians escaping the conflict in their country to settle elsewhere on the continent. The EU commissioner for crisis management says the war could force 4 million people to flee.
The temporary protection directive has been in deep freeze since it was introduced in 2001 in the wake of the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
France's interior minister Gerard Darmanin wants to reactivate it because it would allow Ukrainians to stay in countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Romania for three years and have easier access to residence permits and chances to look for jobs or receive state benefits.
Since 2017, Ukrainians have been allowed to travel throughout the European Union for 90 days without a visa and it is understood the temporary protection directive could kick in once that period ends.
During a visit on Monday to Romania, Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for home affairs, told Euronews: "This is really a situation where we could have millions of people on our territory."
"We need to make sure that they have the proper protection and that they have the proper rights. Most of the Ukrainians are coming with passports that give them visa-free entry for 90 days. But we have to prepare for day 91."
Preparation
Darmanin will press for directive to be adopted across the continent during a meeting with his EU counterparts on Thursday.
Last summer, there were calls to use the directive to help thousands of Afghans trying to escape their country during the chaotic western withdrawal and Taliban takeover.
But the attempts were thwarted. Some EU states fear the directive is a step towards a mandatory relocation system.
But their opposition has diminished following the images of devastation emerging from Ukraine and the heart-breaking stories of families fleeing their cities and towns.
During his address to the UN Security Council, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said some half a million Ukrainians have left since Russian forces entered the country on 24 February.
Around half have settled in Poland, with Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia taking the rest.
Millions could take refuge in the country’s west, which many expect to escape the brunt of the hostilities.
"I have worked in refugee crises for almost 40 years and I have rarely seen such an incredibly fast-rising exodus of people," Grandi said.
"I want to commend the governments of receiving countries for allowing refugees access to their territory.
"The challenge to admit and register, to meet the needs and ensure the protection of those fleeing, is daunting, but so far they have been met, though I am seriously concerned about the likely, and further escalation in the number of arrivals. We may have just seen the beginning."
Rising to the moment
On Wednesday, Russian forces said they had seized the southern port city of Khersov. Attacks continued on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city as well as the capital Kyiv.
The American president Joe Biden labelled his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a "dictator" for ordering the incursion into Ukraine.
He told leading politicians in his State of the Union address: “In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment.”
Western governments have unveiled sanctions over the past week aimed at forcing Russia to reassess its military venture which has highlighted differing attitudes to migration.
When Syrians and Afghans attempted to escape the conflict in their countries, they faced opprobrium and bureaucratic snarl-ups.
Officials say four-fifths of those people were men while the Ukrainians migrating are almost exclusively women and children as Ukrainian men aged 18-60 are subject to conscription and banned from leaving the country.
Young sportsmen join the fight
By contrast, the Ukrainian former professional tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky, has headed towards the fighting from his home in England.
The 36-year-old left his family in London to return to Ukraine and join up.
Day #2 in Kyiv starts. People around me in high spirits… no one is willing to surrender🇺🇦✊🏻
— Sergiy Stakhovsky (@Stako_tennis) March 1, 2022
"It was something I felt very strongly about," Stakhovsky told the French sports newspaper L'Equipe.
"Something I needed to do. Not without some regrets and worries. Everyone tried to stop me. I just hope I can see my wife again and ask her forgiveness."
On Wednesday, the football players union Fifpro announced the deaths of the Ukrainian players Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko.
Our thoughts are with the families, friends, and teammates of young Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Sapylo (21) and Dmytro Martynenko (25), football’s first reported losses in this war.
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) March 1, 2022
May they both rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/f6l9oHHRMr
Sapylo, 21, who featured for second tier Carpathian Lviv, joined up and was killed in action.
Martynenko, 25, who played for second dvision FC Hostomel died along with his mother in a bombing near Kyiv, Fifpro said.
