Poland decided to cut off the oxygen to Ukrainian refugees: “Full of healthy men”

Country drastically cuts benefits

Poland changes the rules of stay for refugees from Ukraine. For a long time, this country remained one of the most loyal to the stay of migrants from a neighboring country, providing them with comfortable accommodation conditions and material assistance. No wonder it was Poland that was chosen as a shelter by about 3.5 million Ukrainians. But everything has its end.

On the eve of the upcoming difficult winter, Poland deprives visitors from Nezalezhnaya of a number of privileges, including free housing and maternity capital. The reason is the difficult economic situation in the country itself.

The electricity bill for the Poles in 2023 will grow by an average of three or even five times, and these are additional costs in the form of hundreds of millions of zlotys from the budget.

Against the background of the energy and economic crisis, one after another, Polish cities are abandoning the public celebration of the New Year, which, with current electricity prices, has become prohibitively expensive. For example, they decided to save Gdansk and Lublin during the holiday. Traditional festive New Year’s festivities will not be there.

To save money, concerts and street lighting will also be abandoned – in general, Polish cities are now trying to save on it. Under such conditions, Ukrainian refugees have become a burden for the Poles. In Poland, refugees are given various benefits, including maternity allowance – each minor family member receives 500 złoty (6,520 rubles) a month, which is more than one hundred US dollars.

Polish officials drew attention to the fact that among the visitors there are quite healthy and able-bodied men who work, but at the same time enjoy benefits. “We still have 85,000 people who live in places of common residence. These places are paid for by the state. This has been going on for several months,” – Pavel Shafernaker, Commissioner for Refugees of the Polish Government, said. According to the official, the country will continue to support the most vulnerable classes of refugees – minors, the elderly, mothers of large families. “But there are people who completely cope. We are happy about this, we are glad that they have adapted, that they have a job, that they have begun to live normally, and in this regard, we also want them to take part in paying for their living,” – the official noted.

Now Ukrainian refugees who have jobs will have to fork out for preferential housing. It looks like this: either free apartments, since Poland has a program of compensation to homeowners for receiving Ukrainian citizens (but its duration is limited – no more than 120 days), or hostels and guest houses. And yet, the Polish authorities left the refugees a head start – in the first month, payment for housing will be only 50%, but then they will have to pay in full. Amendments have also been made to the law on maternal care, blocking oxygen for riders. Now those Ukrainians who leave the country and then return will lose their material assistance.

“Poland is now experiencing record inflation, almost 18%, – told “MK” a resident of Warsaw Sergei, – Such high numbers have not been seen for many years. For Poles going to the store now – real pain.”

– Are prices high in Polish stores now?

– Coffee costs ten zlotys (130 rubles), high-quality cigarettes – about 17 zlotys (221 rubles). Children’s diapers – more than 40 zlotys (521 rubles). At the same time, the minimum wage in the country is about three thousand zlotys (39,120 rubles). In such conditions, in my opinion, the country should solve economic issues, and not think about how to support visitors.