Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker told the media that on Friday alone 41,000 Ukrainians received their personal identification numbers (PESEL), according to data as of 3 p.m., the state PAP news agency reported.
Szefernaker announced the figures at a news conference, appearing alongside Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek and government spokesman Piotr Müller.
According to Szefernaker, the most ID numbers, around 1,000 a day, were being issued to refugees in the capital Warsaw.
Meanwhile, several hundred Ukrainians were receiving their PESEL numbers every day in other big Polish cities, such as Kraków in the south and Wrocław in the southwest, Szefernaker said.
He told reporters that the government held a video call earlier on Friday with the mayors of many of Poland’s towns and cities. The aim was to streamline access to the country’s schools and healthcare services for Ukrainian refugees, and "make sure they get their PESEL numbers issued as quickly as possible," Szefernaker said.
He added that the government was providing PESEL processing centres around the country with 3,000 additional computers, as well as fingerprint scanners, to make sure the process runs smoothly.
PM to discuss Ukraine situation with political parties on Monday
Meanwhile, Müller announced that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki would meet with politicians from Poland’s main parliamentary groupings for talks on Monday about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Other topics include support for refugees and national and regional security, according to the government spokesman.
Morawiecki wants to discuss “what other policies we can introduce to help refugees from Ukraine and how to better organise what we are doing already,” Müller said.
700,000 school-aged children among refugees: education minister
The education minister told reporters that some 700,000 school-aged Ukrainian children have arrived in Poland since Vladimir Putin’s assault on their country.
Around 10 percent of them have already joined Polish schools, according to Czarnek.
Friday was day 23 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.
Poland on Friday reported it had taken in more than 2 million refugees fleeing Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Poland’s president last Saturday signed into law a wide-ranging package of support for Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their country.
The measure grants them legal stay in Poland and ensures access to education, healthcare and social benefits.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP