PM calls on EC to do more to help countries supporting Ukraine

Predicting a further wave of war refugees from Ukraine, Poland's prime minister has called on the European Commission (EC) to give more help to countries bearing the costs of aiding Ukrainians.

Speaking in Kosice, Slovakia, where on Thursday he was attending a summit of the Visegrad Group (V4) of countries (Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary), Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference that one of the main topics of talks was the situation in Ukraine and Russia's attacks on the country's critical infrastructure.

He said that due to these attacks, and the approaching winter, a fresh wave of refugees had become more likely.

"The coming months might be very, very difficult, after all winter is coming and the Russians are bombarding energy infrastructure with premeditation, depriving people in Ukraine of electricity, heat and leading to a humanitarian drama," Morawiecki said.

"So today, we call on the European Commission to take quick preventative actions, actions here and now, no waiting for what might happen in two or four weeks," he added.

Morawiecki said that the V4 prime ministers had agreed that the EC should give much more help to countries bearing the costs of aiding Ukrainians.

The prime minister went on to say that the countries of Nato's eastern flank had stood up to the task of "opening doors and hearts" to Ukrainian refugees.

"Money from the EU, from Brussels - and this is our common opinion - should be flowing in a much bigger stream to our countries," he said.