Warsaw, Feb 18, (dpa/GNA) – US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, warned while in Poland on Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could trigger an exodus of people, fleeing toward the European Union.
“If Russia further invades Ukraine, Poland could see tens of thousands of displaced Ukrainians and others flowing across its border trying to save themselves and their families from the scourge of war,” he said alongside his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak in Warsaw.
Blaszczak said Poland was ready to help those forced to leave Ukraine in the event of a Russian attack. Last week, Poland’s interior minister said his country was preparing emergency shelters.
The US recently moved 4,700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division from North Carolina to Poland, to bolster the 4,500 US forces already stationed in the country.
Austin was also due to meet President Andrzej Duda while in Warsaw.
GNA