How to receive essential services, protection and other support if you’re a refugee from Ukraine entering a neighbouring country.
UNICEF/Filippov
The war in Ukraine has forced millions to flee their homes in search of safety. If you or someone you know is taking refuge in a neighbouring country, here’s how to access essential services – including shelter, food, protection and other forms of support – in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
No matter where you’re headed, make sure to protect yourself and your children along the
Helplines by country
Bulgaria
| Need | Resource |
| Information for people affected by the war in Ukraine | Government of Bulgaria / Website in Ukrainian, English, Russian / Phone: +359 2 90 55 555, + 380 / 322 465 075 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112 |
| Legal advice | Bulgarian Helsinki Committee / Phone: +359 2 980 20 49, +359 2 981 33 18 / Hotline +359 8888 19 745
National Legal Aid Bureau / Phone: 0700 18 250 |
| Medical advice | Red Cross Bulgaria / Phone: 0800 20 101 / Hot-line for psycho-social support: 0800 11 466 |
| Services related to unaccompanied children, family separation, and other child protection needs | First Responders / Phone: 112
Child Helpline / Phone: 116111 |
Czech Republic
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | Government of the Czech Republic / Website, Phone: +420 974801802 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112 |
| Essential services and humanitarian assistance | UNHCR / Website |
| Legal, social, psychological counselling (including for unaccompanied children) | Organisation for Aid to Refugees (OPU) / Phone: +420 730158779, +420 730158781 |
| General support services | People in Need (NGO) / Phone: +420 770600800 |
Hungary
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | Government of Hungary / Website, Toll-free phone: 06 80 310 310, Mobile phone: +36 1 550 1828 |
| Embassy services | Embassy of Ukraine / Phone: +36-14-22-41-20, +36-14-22-41-22, +36-14-22-41-23 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112 |
| Essential services and humanitarian assistance | UNHCR / Website |
| Support for victims of violence or abuse | UNHCR / Website |
Italy
| Need | Resource |
| Applying for refugee protection, plus other essential services | Civil Protection Department / Website |
| Embassy services | Embassy of Ukraine Rome / Website, Phone: +39 06 841 2630
Embassy of Ukraine Holy See / Phone: +39 06 3937 8800 |
| In case of emergency | Italy Police / Phone: 112 |
| Accommodation, other essential services, and humanitarian assistance | Civil Protection Department / Website |
| Services related to unaccompanied children, family separation, and other child protection needs | Child Helpline/ Phone: 114
Italy Police / Phone: 112 |
| Legal, social, psychological counselling (including for unaccompanied children | U-Report on the Move/ Here4U / Website
Jumamap/ Website |
| Helpline violence and stalking | Helpline violence and stalking / Website, Phone 1522 |
| Essential services and humanitarian assistance | Civil Protection Department / Website |
Moldova
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | Moldova Bureau for Migration and Asylum / Phone inside Moldova: 0800 015 27, Phone from Ukraine: +373 22 820 007 |
| Accommodation, other essential services, and humanitarian assistance | Government of Moldova / Website |
| Embassy services | Embassy of Ukraine / Website, Phone: +373-22-58-22-84, +373-22-58-21-51 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112 |
| Assistance seeking refuge and protection | Centre for Migration Advocates / Phone: +373 606 748 48 |
| Services related to unaccompanied children, family separation, and other child protection needs | Child Helpline / Phone: 116111
Moldova Police / Phone: 112 Law Centre of Advocates / Phone: +373 60574848 |
Poland
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | Government of Poland / Website, Phone: +48 477217575, Email: ukraina@udsc.gov.pl |
| Embassy services | Embassy of Ukraine / Website, Phone: +48 22 621 39 79 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112 |
| Services related to unaccompanied children, family separation, and other child protection needs | Child Helpline / Phone: 116111 |
| Essential services and humanitarian assistance | UNHCR / Website |
Romania
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | Government of Romania / Website |
| Embassy services | Embassy of Ukraine / Website, Phone: +40-212-30-36-60 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112
Border Police / Phone: +40219590 |
| Report child abuse | Child Helpline / Phone: 119 |
| Essential services and humanitarian assistance | UNHCR / Website |
Slovakia
| Need | Resource |
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | Government of Slovakia / Website |
| Embassy services | Embassy of Ukraine / Website, Phone: +421 2/592 028 10 |
| In case of emergency | First Responders / Phone: 112 |
| Applying for refuge and protection, plus other essential services | IOM / Website |
| Help for feelings of hopelessness, anxiety and other forms of distress | NGO / Phone: 0800 500 888, Email: ukrajina@ipcko.sk |
| Mental Health League and their Trust line „Nezábudka“ | Phone: 0800 222 450 (13:00-21:00) |
| Infolines of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic for Ukrainian speakers | Phone: +421 513 816 111, +421 259 765 111 |
| Infoline of the Human Rights League | Phone: 0800 222 350 |
Stay safe, stay alert
Volunteers in and around host communities have turned out by the thousands to escort refugees to safety. Many are unregistered, acting in goodwill to link families to accommodation and support. But the outpour of help at border crossings also provides cover for traffickers and other predators seeking to exploit women and children fleeing war.
If you’re crossing a border:
❌ Don’t trust job or educational offers from anyone other than authorities, especially if you’re pressured to commit right away or required to separate from your friends or family.
✅ Keep digital and paper copies of your passport, ID and other certificates.
❌ Never leave your passport, ID or other certificates with someone you don’t know.
✅ Stay with your family and friends as much as possible. It’s always safer to travel with people you know.
✅ If you must get in a car with someone you don’t know, take a photo of the license plate and send it to someone you trust. Tell that person where you are going and when you should arrive.
✅ Exercise extreme caution when giving your personal details to others, including on social media.
✅ If a stranger offers help and something doesn’t feel right, trust your instinct.
If you’re travelling with children:
✅ Teach your children their full names, your full name and your phone number. Have them practice repeating it.
✅ Identify a meeting point and plan to go there in case you get separated from your children.
✅ For very small children, prepare an identity tag (like a bracelet or something attached to their clothing) with the child’s name and your contact details.
✅ For children with mobile phones, save your contact as ‘AA Emergency Contact 1’ and that of a trusted loved one as ‘AA Emergency Contact 2,’ etc.
✅ Talk to your children about the potential risks of travelling and encourage them to share with you anything that may be worrying them.
✅ As much as possible, allow your children time to rest, sleep and even play while travelling.
❌ Don’t allow your children to be taken out of your sight or to any location without you.
✅ If anyone is acting or threatening to act violent against you or your children, seek immediate safety before informing the authorities.
✅ While travelling, hold your child’s hand or take other precautions to keep them close.
❌ Beware of anyone offering you a job, shelter or education for your children. Don’t accept offers of services or support from anyone other than an authorized official.
If you’re helping an unaccompanied child:
❌ Don’t assume the child is lost. A parent or caregiver may be close by.
✅ Ask others in the immediate vicinity if they know the child. Ask for the child’s name and other family details.
❌ Don’t accept help from any stranger who offers to escort the child to safety.
✅ Keep the child’s belongings with her at all times. These might help authorities trace her family.
❌ Don’t share information about the child with anyone else, aside from competent authorities.
✅ Contact a competent authority – such as the local municipality government, border police, or Ukraine’s consular services in the host country. Share the child’s information and location, and follow the authority’s instructions.
✅ Explain to the child what will happen next, without promising to find his parents. This could cause him additional confusion or distress.
✅ Don’t leave the child until she is safely in the hands of a competent authority.
By UNICEF
Many victims don’t know whom to turn to and their friends don’t know how to help, especially if the victim is in another country.
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