**EU Prepares for New Wave of Ukrainian Refugees**
Leaders in the European Union are discussing how to handle a potential new wave of refugees from Ukraine. This is because there’s uncertainty about U.S. policy and Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine, according to Politico.
The situation was sparked by a disagreement between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump. After their argument on February 28, the White House suspended its military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. This has caused concern in Europe.
Many Ukrainian refugees are currently living in EU countries like Czechia, Germany, and Poland. Now, EU officials are talking about whether to distribute them more evenly across member states if there’s another wave of refugees. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on March 5 that this would be a fair way to handle the situation.
“If Russia escalates the war further and U.S. support disappears, and it leads to a larger refugee movement… we need a binding distribution of Ukraine refugees throughout the EU,” Faeser said.
European officials don’t think there will be another big influx of refugees from Ukraine, but they’re preparing for any possibility. Germany has promised to stand with Ukraine as long as Russia continues its attacks.
There are currently around 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees living abroad and about 4.2 million in the EU. Not many of them want to return home – only about 43% by the end of last year, down from 74% in December 2022.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com
