An initial Ukrainian-Polish meeting was held, chaired by Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. The participants discussed problematic issues raised by Ukrainian asylum seekers in Poland.

The event was attended by Polish officials, heads of accommodation centers for Ukrainian citizens, and representatives of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland.

The participants of the meeting reported on the main problems related to medical care, education, social sphere, and passport issuance.

In particular, Polish medicine is mostly accessible to Ukrainian citizens. However, the procedure for establishing the status of a person with disability remains lengthy, which affects access to assistance and other benefits. Currently, Ukrainian disability certificates are not recognized by the Polish side.

Another issue that needs to be resolved is the recognition by Poland of Ukrainian certificates of basic secondary education for 9th year graduates. This would make it easier for Ukrainian graduates to enter Polish educational institutions.

“We receive signals from people. And that is why we are holding this meeting. It is obvious that support of the Ukrainian Government is now extremely necessary for our fellow citizens in Poland. We are here to identify specific problems and find ways to solve them. Both through appropriate actions from the Ukrainian side and at the intergovernmental level. In particular, we need to establish channels of cooperation between Ukrainian ministries and relevant Polish agencies,” emphasized the Head of the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories.