Yesterday I needed to write that post abut the Ukrainian war, thinking if I can "put my thoughts on paper", write it down would make me feel a little bit better, but that was only wishful thinking. Last night I stayed up late, checking my phone for updates, then woke up at 4 am and the first thing I did was check my phone. @zirochka's post is open non stop on my phone and @blind-spot's as well and I'm refreshing their post every 30 minutes to see if there are updates.
I guess the only thing that would make me feel better would be the news that the war ended and to know everyone is safe and take care of, which is not going to happen anytime soon. This moron has been planning this for a long time and he's not going to give up easily.
Update On Romania's Situation
As I said yesterday in my post, my country is not in an immediate danger because this is basically a NATO border and if Putin tries anything on a NATO member, all hell will break lose. I don't think we're going to get there as Putin's first target is to put his men in power over Ukraine and then enforce his will on the country, but who knows.
Meanwhile there's a war in the neighboring country, life has changed in Romania as well. Refugees are pouring in from several entry points. They are coming on foot or on ferries down south.
They are expected and welcomed with food and drinks right at the border. Authorities and locals are working together to help refugees get to shelters and get food and things they need. Only women and children are allowed to cross the border, so children need special care.
Buses are expecting them at the border and some are taken to different parts of the country, where they are offered shelter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=114&v=Z5897WiGUuw&feature=emb_logo
In this video you can see how they are welcomed. There are bilingual banners at the borders, letting refugees know that there's free shelter and food available.
This is what's happening in most of the European countries that have borders with Ukraine. It's amazing to see how authorities and locals have mobilized themselves to help those in need.
Around 200 Indian students crossed the border to Romania and were boarded today on a plain sent by India to take them home.
Ukrainian citizens who want to work in Romania do not need a work permit for nine months in a calendar year, Romanian Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity Marius Budai wrote on Facebook on Friday.
"The citizens of Ukraine who enter Romania for the purpose of employment, are extended the right of temporary residence for work if they present a full-time individual employment contract registered with the general register of employees showing the pay to be at least the size of the gross minimum basic pay nationwide," the Labour Minister pointed out. source
As you can see, there are other measures taken by Romania in order to help those in need. There's no need for work permit for Ukrainian nationals who wants to work on Romanian territory.
Ukrainian citizens arriving in Romania have the right to access all types of medical services during their stay in our country, while in the case of those who wish to obtain the refugee status, the specific legal provisions in force apply, said the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, on Friday, at the end of the task force meeting for the management of the situation generated by the military aggression in Ukraine. source
The Romanian airspace is closed for Russian airplanes, which was expected.
"Given the current international situation, namely the war in Ukraine, as far as radioactivity is concerned, there were no exceedances of the warning limits for environmental radioactivity by the National Network for Environmental Radioactivity Monitoring (RNSRM). So far, it is in the multi-annual trend of variation for the current month and does not present a risk for the environment or the population," ANPM shows. source
This is good news as we don't want another radioactive cloud over our country, as it happened when the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl blew up and Russia blocked any news for several days, exposing several European countries to radiation.
This is the link to the Romanian national news agency, English version, if you'd like to check what's going on in Romania.
What To Expect
The good news is that there are several countries to host refugees, as otherwise we could be facing the biggest humanitarian crisis of Europe. As you can see on the map above, Ukraine shares border with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria through the Black Sea.
Belarus does not count as the country is in Putin's pocket, fighting with Russia, so even if they would be willing to accept refugees, no one in their right mind would go there. Escaping one dictator to be ruled by another is not the solution here.
So these are the neighboring countries, but if things go really bad, I suppose the other countries are going to offer help too, after all Ukraine has a 41m population and all the neighboring countries are smaller, not one of them is capable to host as many refugees.
Some consolation, winter is slowly over, there's no snow at the borders, the last few days were quite nice and sunny. It is still cold at night, but not like in December and January, when temperatures are way below zero. Many of these people are spending the night under the sky, because things are moving slowly on the Ukrainian border. Some are waiting for more than 24 hours. Romania has sent food over the border to help those staying in line.
Last, but not least, stay safe wherever you are and try not to take anything for granted. Life is short and you don't know what is yet to come.
Again, please try to support those who are stuck in Ukraine as life is already tough and even if the war is over, life will not be easy.
