Nearly 2 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of that nation, prompting the United Nations to declare the mass exodus the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the end of World War II.

Most Ukrainians have fled westward to neighboring nations – mostly to Poland – where they have found a haven from the bombings, combat, shelling and destruction. In Poland, the refugees have mostly been assisted by Catholic groups, individual parishes and ordinary citizens willing and actively helping the displaced.

“I consider it my human duty to help our neighbors… they simply need support. They have left everything they had, their whole life is packed into one suitcase,” said Dorota Pierścieniewska, a 50-year-old resident of Ząbki, a suburb of Warsaw located five kilometers northeast of city.

Pierścieniewska was interviewed by the Catholic Standard newspaper via e-mail.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month is actually a continuation of a war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and supported pro-Russian separatists who seized the Donbas region in southeastern Ukraine.

Those fleeing the war have been mostly women, children, the disabled and the elderly. Male Ukrainian citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 have not been able to leave the country to stay behind and defend their homeland. In addition, many women and teens under the age of 18 have remained to fight. So far, more than 66,000 Ukrainians living and working abroad have returned to their native country to defend it.

Most Ukrainian refugees fleeing from Russia's attack have gone into neighboring countries. Poland so far has accepted 1.3 million refugees. Warsaw alone, took in 200,000 refugees – about 10 percent of its current population – in less than two weeks. Other countries with large numbers of refugees include Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova.

Pierścieniewska and her best friend, Ukrainian-born Liliia Bilozir, have coordinated outreach efforts in their small town of 30,000 residents. Those fleeing to Poland, Pierścieniewska said, “need real help, such as housing, food, clothing, hygiene products and medical care.”

The medical needs of Ukrainians fleeing their homes is sometimes overlooked. Support agencies on the ground have reported that frostbite, diarrhea and fainting are the most common afflictions affecting displaced Ukrainians, and doctors are scrambling to treat those and other conditions. However, there are also refugees dealing with chronic illness.

“Some of them are sick, without medication, without a medical history that they did not have time to take with them,” Pierścieniewska said. “Doctors, who declare their willingness to help, often do so somewhat blindly. There are also people who have interrupted rehabilitation (ongoing medical care), and without it their health will deteriorate.”

“The scale of the suffering is devastating,” Sean Callahan, Catholic Relief Services’ president and CEO, said in a statement. “It’s easy to forget that there are human faces behind the staggering headlines. As we pray for peace, we must continue to do everything possible to support the survival and dignity of Ukrainian families.”  

CRS, the U.S. bishops’ outreach agency, provides relief in emergencies and helps people in the developing world. It is part of Caritas Internationalis, an organization of more than 160 Catholic agencies offering relief, social services and other help to those in need in more than 200 countries.

In addition to organized outreach, many Poles such as Pierścieniewska have taken it upon themselves to assist in any way they can. About 95 percent of Poles said they want their country to accept and help the Ukrainian refugees, according to a survey conducted by Rzeczpospolita, a national newspaper in Poland. Pierścieniewska said there already is a large Ukrainian population living in Poland, many married to Polish citizens. “They are our neighbors, colleagues from work, doctors, beauticians,” she said.

Pierścieniewska, who works in a bank and is a member of Divine Mercy Parish in Ząbki, said, “The thought that I could find myself in this kind of situation doesn’t let me sleep well.”

“When I talk to my friends or to the clients I serve in the bank, I get the impression that most Poles think the same way. It doesn’t surprise me at all, because we also have had similar experiences, for example from the period of martial law,” she said. “I want to show them (the Ukrainian refugees) – not tell them – but show them that they are not alone. That they can count on us.”

Between 1981 and 1983, the then-communist government of Poland instituted martial law, cracking down and punishing those involved in the Solidarity movement or any effort to protest the country’s repressive regime.

“Just like them (the Ukrainian refugees), we are full of different fears,” she said. “The situation we find ourselves in triggered in us undiscovered layers of strength and a willingness to help. I have noticed a strange tendency: the less someone has, the more willing they are to share with others.”

Pierścieniewska said that she herself has not only collected items for displaced Ukrainians, but has opened her home as well. “We have invited them into our homes … I, for my part, offered the biggest room in my house, and am helping with all the formalities connected to getting them into schools and looking for jobs for them.”

“It is very important to give these people at least a substitute for normality. We cannot focus exclusively on basic necessities. We also need to think about how to help them overcome barriers, for example language barriers, because they need to find work and their children need to go to school,” she said.

She added that “the first guest in our house” was a dog named Lonia that was rescued from a Ukrainian animal shelter. Poland – along with Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Germany, Belgium and other countries – have eased restrictions on animals entering their countries, thus allowing fleeing Ukrainians to bring their companion pets with them.

As she and others continue to help during this time of crisis, Pierścieniewska said she has seen first-hand that the refugees “are terrified. They cannot put this all together in their heads. It is even more difficult to explain this to children. There are children who have not managed to take a beloved toy with them or say goodbye to their friends. Above all, these people need to feel safe.”

In addition to the grassroots efforts, Catholic Relief Services and other Catholic agencies have been working to ease the humanitarian crisis caused by the war.

Franciscan Father Filip Buczyński, president of the Little Prince Hospice in Lublin, posted on his Facebook page that his hospice has adopted one of three families brought to the Polish border town of Korczowa by a Ukrainian nun. The other families were placed in hospice care in Łód odzi, Poland.

The Catholic News Service reported that local Knights of Columbus groups have established tents at the Polish-Ukrainian border to distribute food and water to refugees; have established collection sites in some cities for medical supplies, warm clothing and necessities; and have created a database of parishioner homes and parish centers that will host refugees.

Caritas Poland tweeted this week that it engaged scout troops and a volunteer fire department to make and distribute “Lenten baskets of goodness” for children from an orphanage in Pioniersk near Mariupol in Ukraine, who are staying in one of the Caritas Poland centers in the Diocese of Sandomierz in southeastern Poland. Caritas Poland has taken in some 2,000 Ukrainian orphans.

It has also sent about 60 tons worth of humanitarian aid to hospitals in Ukraine, including generators, and medical supplies including medicine, IVs, drips, infusion fluids, surgical equipment and wound care products.

In Poland, Caritas Poland has created “Tents of Hope” in several Polish border towns where “everyone can warm up, eat and drink tea” and refugees can get sleeping bags and have their phones charged.

Catholic Relief Services is assisting Caritas Poland in preparing a cash assistance program to reach an estimated 300,000 households. It also is providing shelter to refugee orphans in coordination with the Polish government.

Caritas is also actively assisting Ukrainians in other countries to which they have fled.

In Moldova, for example, Caritas has joined with the government to operate “crisis centers” where refugees can get food and up to three nights of shelter. Caroline Brennan, director of emergency communications for CRS’ Humanitarian Response Team, is in Moldova and said, “Right now we’re looking at how to create new places for shelters, since many government centers and Caritas centers are reaching capacity.”

In addition to Poland, CRS has staff and resources to support local Caritas partners in Ukraine, Romania and Moldova to assist displaced Ukrainians.  

CRS is working with Caritas Ukraine, Caritas Moldova and Caritas Romania to provide field kitchens offering hot meals; reception services offering clothing, information, referrals, food, water, hygiene items and counseling services; transportation of displaced families to friends, families and local social services; and evacuation centers providing shelter, food and counseling services for displaced families.

“The world cannot remain indifferent to this tragedy,” Pierścieniewska said. “We need medicines, food for children, and the list is constantly being updated, all the more so as the number of refugees continues to grow.”

Here is how to help:

The international Caritas confederation is collecting funds to help Caritas Ukraine. In the United States, that is through Catholic Relief Services: https://bit.ly/3LWtOKa. Internationally, you can donate through https://www.caritas.org/.

The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia also has a link: https://ukrarcheparchy.us/donate.

Caritas Poland is accepting donations at https://caritas.pl/.

Two pontifical agencies also are taking donations for Ukraine: Catholic Near East Welfare Association, https://cnewa.org/campaigns/ukraine/, and Aid to the Church in Need, https://bit.ly/3sgpuNV.

Internationally, Aid to the Church can be reached at https://bit.ly/3vfqCn4.