Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing went to the Polish-Ukrainian border on March 12 with the head of Deutsche Bahn, Richard Lutz, writes the German "

The minister was most excited by what he saw when he looked into one of the tents in Korczova on the border between Ukraine and Poland, where people who had just crossed the border fleeing Putin's war could warm up.. " It's impossible to forget,"

According to those responsible for this, it is a “relatively quiet day” at the reception point in Mlyny today.. Nevertheless, here, in a former shopping center, hundreds of people are lying on folding beds, children are running around. The hall is divided into zones depending on where the refugees want to go: "

Many refugees who travel further west now end up in one city: Berlin. Wissing went to Poland for a mini-summit with European colleagues to discuss how best to distribute people in Europe. On Friday evening, the politician met with the Ministers of Transport of Poland, France, Austria and the Czech Republic, as well as with EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean.

“Overcrowding” of Poland and Berlin.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Minister of Transport of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov also attended the meeting via video link. The meeting did not bring tangible results.. “We talked about the fact that we need to take a pan-European decision if this war lasts longer,” Wissing says.. “We must prepare for the fact that even more refugees will come to us,” the minister said..

The main problem that Poland is already facing is not the transportation of people, but the lack of agreement on how they should be distributed among the EU countries.. At the moment, about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Poland, and on some days more than 100 thousand cross the border. human.

Until now, many Ukrainian refugees traveled west on regular trains, most often from the railway station in Przemysl. The Berlin Senate has been demanding support and distribution of refugees to other regions of the country for several days and criticizes the Minister of Transport for the fact that trains with refugees travel through the capital. After all, you can pass them through other cities.

Although there is a direct rail link from Frankfurt an der Oder to Hannover, from where the Ukrainians will be distributed, many refugees decide for themselves whether they use this option. They can move freely within the Schengen area for 90 days, and for many, Berlin is the final destination due to the large Ukrainian community that exists here.. Wissing believes that Germany has no right to violate the freedom of movement of people.

Special trains from the Polish-Ukrainian border directly to German or other European cities could be part of the solution to the transportation problem, at least for those people who do not want to go to Berlin. So far, Deutsche Bahn (DB), together with the Polish Railways, have equipped Eurocity trains with additional carriages, which, however, run on regular routes on a regular schedule - and mainly lead to Berlin.

According to Wissing, the distribution of refugees is the task of the Minister of the Interior.

So far, governments simply do not know where special trains for Ukrainians should go..

“I intervened because the Polish government asked for help,” Wissing says.. I am sure that together we will find the right solution..

[see_also ids\u003d"

War has returned to Europe. And the continent will no longer be the same as before, said the leaders of the countries and governments of the EU on March 15. But, having gathered for a summit at the Palace of Versailles, it was hard for them to accept the new terrible reality..