Essential Reporting from our special correspondent in Poland, where the population fears an attack from neighboring Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
After Ukraine, Poland? They admit it only hesitantly, but the Poles have reason to worry, because the fear of an attack by the Kremlin army has become more and more palpable in recent days. It should be recognized that the conflict relations between the two neighboring countries are not new. And all the Poles who have gathered in recent days, in particular the many volunteers who help Ukrainian refugees, do not hide their concern about the sequence of events.
No one doubts this after the airstrikes carried out on Saturday March 12 against a NATO military base located just 25 km from the Polish border. A volunteer at a refugee reception center in Chrubenn, a Polish border post located 70 kilometers from the city of Lviv in Ukraine, Hyacinta, 22, who hails from southern Poland and is a law student, says she is very worried about the incursion of Russian troops. army in Ukraine. “Yes, we are worried in Poland, but my sadness is softened by the fact that I am a volunteer and help others,” she admits. From everything I can read or hear on TV, it’s obvious that the Russians are our enemies, and we can’t be sure what Putin will or won’t do. »
“Now we only talk about the war,” says Monica, 52, a humanitarian aid volunteer. I called my mom recently and this topic keeps coming up. My mother, who lives in Poznań (northwest Poland, NLD), told me: we are ready. Moreover, we have already received a list of newly opened bunkers or bomb shelters by SMS.” There is a hereditary “hatred” between Poland and the Russian ogre, dating back to the occupation of the latter in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Shelter bunkers
In fact, recently Monica’s mother, Elisabeth Schubert, 76, received an email from the Poznań City Hall that talks a lot about the feeling of suffering that is spreading in the country led by Andrzej Duda. “There are more and more appeals from our voters on the issue of security in connection with the invasion of Russians in Ukraine,” the Poznan city hall says. Given the current situation, it is better to inform the population in advance. We talk about bunkers, shelters and other places where you can hide in case of an attack. This is not to cause panic, but the security specialist confirms that it is better to be prepared for anything. »
Ukrainian refugees on the border with Poland. AFP – LOUISE GOULIAMAKI
The renaissance city of Poznań, bordering the Warta River and famous for its universities, informed its citizens that it had “436 shelters and 34 bomb shelters, each of which can accommodate up to 10,000 people.” In addition, 339 shelters can support up to 39,000 people for the rest of the population.” The letter also indicates the number of bunkers that will be opened in areas of the city with a population of more than 500,000 people: 223 bomb shelters for the old city, 180 for the “new city”, etc. …
Elisabeth Schubert, who lives in Poznań’s Lecickie district, already knows that the bunker, a former fortification, “could hold 990 people” in the event of a bombardment. But there is no “access to water or electricity.”
“The arrival of the Russians is a matter of a few days”
Some Polish women who have no doubts about Vladimir Putin’s motives outside of Ukraine are preparing to handle weapons. This is especially true for Evelina, 47, who also lives in western Poland.
“I take lessons to learn how to handle weapons,” she says. Be prepared just in case and join the Polish army if the Russians attack us. I have never touched a weapon, but if I volunteer to join the army, I want to have a minimum of knowledge so as not to be taken by surprise. I paid for the lessons out of my own pocket, it cost me 150 zlotys (about 32 euros).”
Poland, which plays an exemplary role in hosting Ukrainian refugees, who number more than a million since the beginning of the war on February 24, is on the alert. “For us civilians, we are sure that the arrival of the Russians is a matter of a few days,” Monika worries. They hate us and have been for a very long time. We don’t like them either, it’s an old story. Putin said he wanted back what was his, and Poland was still communist after World War II, just like Russia. But Putin will attack Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia first.”