The rapidly escalating Ukrainian wave — already more than 660,000 people in less than a week — appeared poised to dwarf the landmark European migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016, when 2 million people sought sanctuary, mostly Syrians fleeing civil war. Those arrivals sparked intense friction among European Union nations, fueled a resurgent movement of the far right and led to backlash policies designed to stop or turn back asylum seekers.
The solidarity of the current moment stands in stark contrast, particularly amid estimates that the numbers could soar into the millions and potentially become the largest refugee wave on the continent of the post-World War II era.
Some leaders have been unabashed about the dramatic shift in attitudes.
“These are not the refugees we are used to.… These people are Europeans,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told journalists about the Ukrainians, as reported by the Associated Press. “These people are intelligent. They are educated people. … This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists.”
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