(NewsNation) — Poland has taken in more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine — the bulk of more than 3.3 million people that the United Nations says have fled since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
New numbers from the U.N. show one in five Ukrainians has now been displaced by the war.
Local officials in Poland tell NewsNation that they are totally overwhelmed with the influx of Ukrainians coming into their country.
It’s harder to find accommodations. It’s harder to provide for the basic needs of so many people. And that is something that they are concerned about, especially as Western Ukrainian cities such as Lviv continue to be bombed.
Western Ukraine is a region where many have fled en masse in order to seek refuge.
Most of the refugees fleeing Ukraine have been women and children because men aged 18 to 60 are forbidden from leaving the country and have stayed to fight.
An indoor sports stadium is being used as a refugee center, in the village of Medyka, a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine.
Of the refugees, most have escaped to neighboring Poland, Romania or Moldova, but as the war continues many are moving further west.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers visited Poland and said Saturday that the most urgent need in Ukraine’s fight against a Russian invasion is to equip and support the country in every way that will help it defend its independence.
“We are here to reassure and support the people of Ukraine. We are here to thank the people of Poland for the unbelievable generosity they have shown to the refugees,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from Massachusetts, who is chairman of the subcommittee on National Security in the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The American lawmakers stressed the need to urgently assist Ukraine’s military in their fight against Russian forces. They said there is no room for peace talks as long as there is a “hot war.”
President Joe Biden’s last month deployed 1,700 soldiers to Poland and hundreds of U.S. infantry troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are stationed just miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine.
“Our national contribution here in Poland shows our solidarity with all of our allies here in Europe,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue said at the time of deployment.
The U.S. is beefing up its military presence on the ground in Poland and it’s a show of force in solidarity with the members of NATO. The Humvees, the helicopters, they’re all out in the open. They’re not being hidden behind closed doors.
A recent NewsNation poll shows that people are worried that their country might be the next one to be invaded if Ukraine should fall.
The U.S. military presence in Poland affirms to both allies and foes America’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.