Temporary Protection of Ukrainians and Baltic Refugees in the Context of Aggression: Approaches, Challenges, Solutions

Abstract

One of the unavoidable consequences of wars and other conflicts is the resulting flow of refugees who flee for a variety of reasons: risk of persecution, threats to the civilian population, the general situation of instability and despair, and others. World War II (WWII) resulted in some 60 million refugees in Europe. The consequences of Russian aggression in Ukraine have beaten the records of refugee flows since WWII with almost eight million refugees from Ukraine seeking protection in Europe as of the end of January 2023 and around six million internally displaced persons within Ukraine. This chapter aims to dwell on the legal protection of refugees back in the 1940s and now, some 80 years later, by analysing the availability, scope and approach to legal protection in these two important historical periods. Refugees from the Baltic States in the 1940s are considered as a case study in the chapter along with the contemporary flow of Ukrainians in Europe. There is little research on the legal protection of Baltic refugees from WWII, while the Ukrainian refugee flow and the protection solution applied is relatively new, which means that analysis of the approach to their legal status is relevant from the legal research and history of law point of view.