Hi Marek. 

Thank you for all that you, and others similarly, I’m doing in this terrible situation. I wish that my own government was better with this - we are very good at making bellicose noises, very bad at practical help.

Have you any suggestions for where we could send money to provide practical help in Poland? My firm is sending money through one or two of the major aid organisations, but a few of us would like to get money or resources to people on the ground in Poland more quickly if possible as well. I think that the Poles are handling this heroically, but you need support.

Richard 

Cannot really use the phrase 'good morning'... 
The number of refugees in Poland alone (OK, we're #1...) has just passed the treshold of one million... :( Much faster than I thought... 
Thank you all for joining in, your active support, voices in discussion, etc. 
The worst is surely yet to come, the numbers will grow. Helping the refugees is one thing, but my prediction is that quite soon we will see Russian troops at the Polish (Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian and Moldovian) border, effectively cutting-off those unfortunate ones, and I'm talking almost exclusively women and children, who will then get trapped. The 'humanitarian corridors' already are not all too effective, as being shot at. :( Also Russian troops are not allowing the civilians out in numerous cities. The 'air bridge' (see: West Berlin case last century) with closed skies may not be an option. One of the key 'front development' direction is also overtaking ukrainian Black Sea ports... 
Any thoughts on how to help those, who would get cut-off at the second - occupation (and partizan war) stage we'll probably see within days, rather than weeks? 
This also means that support for the refugees must be thought of as long-term, not an 'action'. 
What are the chances to see the EU, local and regional authorities eg. ..., as we say in Poland, 'hitting two ducks in a single shot'?:Covid had a heavy toll on tourism, restaurants, etc. Does EU have funds and tools to, eg. in the first stage... support hotels and restaurants, so that they catter to the refugees and recover a bit in the same time? Can 'we' afford opening schools, initially teaching in Ukrainian and Russian (for the not aware ones: 30-80% of the refugees from the first-attacked territories would, paradoxically, be... Russian-speakers...) for, probably first 2-3 years, with heavy accent on teaching 'new home' language? Etc., etc. 
Noone knows how many of the refugees will travel further into the EU, but a million, two or even three spread over hundreds of millions in the more wealthy western states won't do that much of a difference, but, say 3+ million more people in Poland or, say 500k more in a country like Slovak Rep. means suddenly 10% (!) higher population in a not all too reach a country only to begin with and just slowly digging out from 2 years of Covid-devastated economy... 
Would EU 'chip in'? Would countries outside Europe, who were fortunate not to have war within their territories for a  century or two, and which are not exactly likely to be flooded with Ukrainian mothers-with-children, help?... 

First of all, thank you Marek for what you are doing, this is very impressive!


Thanks to all of you who are supporting the victims of this conflict


 


I am 100% supporting Ukraine and feel extremely sorry for the Russian population which has been embarked on this crazy and criminal adventure.


 


In these darkest hours, I do see some lights at the end of the tunnel:


 

• Ukraine will survive – the past 10 days have seen a tremendous spirit of resistance and resilience by the vast majority of the Ukrainian population – their Independence will remain, contrary to back in 1922, when it was crushed by the Soviet Union
• International support – there is massive international support (2/3 of the countries of the world) – only a handful of “rogue countries” have condemned the UN resolution against the invasion, but these are not very renowned for their democratic track record (North Korea, Eritrea, Syria …)  . There has been much more countries (~1/3, e.g. China, India …) non-voting, but this is due to either geopolitics or commercial interests. In spite of these interests, they could not afford to vote against the UN resolution – That shows you where the right side is (if you had any doubt …)
• European Union is reinforced – I have been amazed by the strong, rapid and united decision of the European Union and all its members (even the countries which have the biggest vested interest in Russia – Germany, Italy and France) – I am sure that it will be seen as a key milestone in the construction on Europe (remember, Europe over the last 70 years has progressed mostly during crisis and this is a big one). The European Union is now reinforcing its external politics dimension along it economic and normative power
• A paved way for Ukraine – Ukraine will join the European Union. Yes, it  will take some time – like for any new joiner, and as Ukrainian institutions and economy are not ready yet – but it will happen – most probably during at the end of this decade
• A future for the Russian people -  We know that the majority of Russian do feel that they belong to the European culture – as they have been for the last 1000 years – they are attracted by the values that Europe has been demonstrating since the creation of the European Community – peace and prosperity. They have seen how this has been developed and nurtured over the last 2 decades in the former “brother countries” who have joined the UE and NATO.  Of course, this is seen as a major threat by the man in the Kremlin and this threat is reinforced by Ukraine shifting towards Europe.  I do think that it is just a matter of time, but Russia will eventually be part of Europe. Of course, it might take a generation (20-25 years), but it will happen definitely. 

  We just have to manage this transition in a smart way