Ukraine’s neighbours bracing for millions of refugees if Russia invades

Independence Square in Kyiv. If warnings from US and British intelligence of a fully fledged invasion come to pass, it seems unlikely to be without huge casualties and displacements. Photograph: Vladimir Sindeyeve/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

Central European countries on Ukraine’s western border are making preparations for a potential influx of millions of refugees in the event of a major Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Poland in particular is bracing for various scenarios if Moscow invades Ukraine, according to its deputy interior minister, Maciej Wąsik. “We have to be prepared for a wave of up to a million people,” he told Polish radio.