Authors

Discussion

My paper is based on interviews with 69 Ukrainians working in Poland in 2019 and 2021-2. My project investigated migrants’ perceptions and experiences of living in smaller Polish cities. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, arrival of 1.5 million women and child refugees (figure correct for 11 October 2022); return of Ukrainian men to Ukraine; and hugely increased visibility of Ukrainians in Poland turned upside down the world of Ukrainians already living in Poland. In February 2022, my findings seemed to become of purely historical interest. However, not everything has changed. Many refugees went to locations where their friends and family were already living in Poland. My paper argues that Ukrainian social networks, place attachments, transnational identities and impressions of Poland established before February 2022 still remain significant, as do the labour market realities of the smaller city.