Central European countries brace for flood of Ukrainian refugees

Central European countries braced on Thursday for the arrival of refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Poland setting up reception points on its border and Hungary and Slovakia planning to send troops to manage the likely influx.

The countries on the European Union’s eastern flank were all once part of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact and are now members of NATO. Among them, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania all share land borders with Ukraine.

Earlier on Thursday, Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since the