Poland prepares for war -Country on red alert to help hundreds of thousands from Ukraine

Some Polish towns have already listed places available and Romania is considering setting up refugee camps. Russia has more than 100,000 troops positioned near Ukraine and the United States has warned that an attack could commence in the next 48 hours. However, Moscow denies these claims and has accused the West of causing “hysteria”. Poland has said it is preparing for a worst-case scenario and Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told Catholic broadcaster Radio Plus on Monday he was “preparing for large numbers so as to be better prepared”.

The city of Czestochowa said it has 1,100 places for fleeing Ukrainians.

The northern town of Elblag has said it has 420 places available.

The mayor of the eastern Polish town of Ciechanow said it was ready to receive around 80 refugees in a hotel within 48 hours and the central Polish city of Torun said it had 96 places for refugees.

Romania has also finalised an action plan in the case of a Russian invasion.

Slovakia’s Defence Minister has warned that there may be hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in need of refuge even under limited conflict.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also announced on Saturday that his country had made preparations.

He said: “We also have a playbook and an action plan in the event of war.”

However, Mr Oban stressed that: “Hungary’s interests are clear: first and foremost, war must be avoided”.

The Hungarian leader likened the current situation to the 1990s when there was mass migration due to the breakup of Yugoslavia.

He said: “Think back to the 1990s when tens of thousands of people arrived from the former Yugoslav territories.

“That was not easy either but many more would come from Ukraine, probably with no hope of return.”