A War in Ukraine Could Mean Another European Refugee Crisis

The United States and NATO have delivered written responses to Russian demands for security guarantees, rejecting Moscow’s insistence on a withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe and an assurance that Ukraine will never be granted membership in the alliance. That firmly puts the ball back in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s court, while doing nothing to reduce the prospects of a Russian military invasion. Now European governments must consider the practical realities of what a war in Ukraine would mean, particularly in neighboring EU member states.

Following a meeting of the NATO security council on Tuesday, Slovakian Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said that even a limited conflict in Ukraine could force tens of thousands of refugees across the border into his country. Bratislava is already making plans to deal with this eventuality, with Nad saying that Ukrainians arriving at the border in the event of a war in their country would be granted refugee status in Slovakia