Flyktingar gör skyddsvästar: ”Ett sätt att hjälpa mitt land”

An ongoing refugee crisis began in Europe in late February 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Almost 5.1 million refugees have since left Ukraine (as of 20 April 2022), while an estimated 7.1 million people have been displaced within the country (as of 1 April 2022). Approximately one-quarter of the country's total population – had left their homes in Ukraine by 20 March. 90% of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. According to UNICEF, by 24 March 2022, more than half of all children in Ukraine (7.5 million) had been forced to leave their homes, of whom approximately 1.8 million had left Ukraine. The invasion has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II and its aftermath, the first of its kind in Europe since the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, and one of the largest refugee crises in the world in the 21st century, with the highest refugee flight rate in the world.The vast majority of refugees have directly entered neighbouring nations to the west of Ukraine. Poland has received more refugees from Ukraine than all other European countries combined. Other countries neighbouring Ukraine that have received refugees are Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia. Some refugees have then moved further west to other European countries and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere. However, observers note that most are likely to stay in Poland and other countries in Central Europe because "tight labour markets, affordable cities and a pre-existing diaspora have made those countries more appealing alternatives for Ukrainians, who find options slimmer in Europe's west."European Union countries bordering Ukraine have allowed entry to all Ukrainian refugees, and the European Union has invoked the Temporary Protection Directive, which grants Ukrainians the right to stay, work and study in any European Union member state for an initial period of one year. Some non-European and Romani people have reported ethnic discrimination at the border.