Contemporary crises, including armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, and other disasters, affect the most vulnerable groups of the world population, i.e., women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and refugees. The current refugee crisis caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has revealed several problems, the effective solutions of which constitute a starting point for systemic actions. Polish State authorities’ preparedness for crises must consider the possibility of migration waves caused by wars, hunger, and climate change. Effective cooperation between the government administration, local governments, and non-governmental organisations is crucial. Non-governmental agencies’ knowledge base on refugees is essential, as are refugee needs in dealing with local emergency services, government agencies, and other stakeholders to develop culturally competent emergency preparedness training. The proposed solutions focus on separating crisis preparedness education from language and culture training. Targeting resources and mapping the individual steps necessary to create and maintain successful crisis preparedness education should result in updated training sessions as essential elements are revealed in improving the situation of the refugees.

The Russian attack on Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered the beginning of the biggest humanitarian crisis in modern Europe since the end of World War 2. Within the first six days of the war, more than four million refugees crossed the Ukrainian border, and most of them arrived in Poland. In response to this crisis, non-governmental organizations and volunteers in Poland played a crucial role in providing support to Ukrainian refugees. Their efforts included providing basic necessities such as food and shelter, as well as assisting with legal and administrative matters. This may be dubbed an example of civil society in action, where citizens take initiative to help those in need here and now, without waiting for the state to introduce specific legal acts. This article aims to describe the historical background of civil activities in Poland as well as the response of both volunteers and the government to the refugee crisis in the first period of the war.

The aim of the article is to present the activity of three branches of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland, covering the entire Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. The study also outlines the Association’s activities supporting refugees. The main research hypothesis is that the Association of Ukrainians in Poland is actively engaged in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and following Russia’s full-scale invasion, members of the Association became extremely proactive both in helping refugees from Ukraine, as well as Ukrainians who stayed in Ukraine, including those from the territory of military operations. The core research problems focuses on the following questions: What efforts did the Association of Ukrainians in Poland undertake to maintain its history, traditions, language and culture? Which activities have been supported by local government authorities, including the Voivodeship ones? How has the Association changed its activity following the Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022? Previous studies conducted by the authors demonstrate that economic migrants from Ukraine in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship did not perceive themselves as a part of the Ukrainian minority living in the region. Meanwhile, the relationship between the Association and the refugees is different.

The article contains a thorough analysis of the European active labour market policies in the face of the influx of Ukrainians following the outbreak of the Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. An overview of the temporary protection regulations for Ukrainians adopted by the EU states made it possible to determine the conditions of legal residence and labour market access. Statistical data and surveys conducted by international institutions became the basis for identification the Ukrainian refugee’s profile on the EU labour market. Thus, the vast majority of Ukrainian citizens staying in EU states are women with higher-than-average educational level; good or high proficiency in English; who used to work before the war with a non-negligible share in the health and education sectors; and who often work below their qualification. In addition, an analytical comparison was undertaken to highlight the image of migrants who came to Poland before February 24, 2022 and that of war refugees who have arrived following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Acceptance of Ukrainians by Poles, remarkable similarities between countries in terms of culture, favourable access to the labour market and healthcare are of the utmost significance for both economic migrants and war refugees.