“Latest information from ENS members and partners in Ukraine and neighbouring countries suggests that stateless people and those at risk of statelessness fleeing Ukraine are facing barriers to protection due to their lack of nationality, documentation, and/or residence status. Barriers in Ukraine There have been reports of racial discrimination, antigypsyism, and differential treatment on the Ukrainian side of the border. Between 16-18 April, the Ukrainian State Border Guard temporarily implemented a policy of permitting only Ukrainians with biometric identity documents to exit Ukraine (with some exceptions for persons fleeing active hostilities or persons with disabilities). The policy was amended on the evening of 18 April to permit all those with national identity documents from all parts of Ukraine to exit the territory. This is likely to prevent many stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness leaving Ukraine. ENS members in Ukraine report significant barriers for stateless people and those without documents to register for support as Internally Displaced Persons, difficulties crossing internal checkpoints, and fear amongst those without documentary proof of their links to Ukraine that they will not be able to return to the country even if they are able to leave. Entry to neighbouring countries Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and Moldova have stated that they admit everyone fleeing the war in Ukraine, including stateless people, those at risk of statelessness and/or undocumented people. However, inconsistent practices and instances of discrimination have been reported at different border crossings. Those without Ukrainian (biometric) passports may face barriers to accessing the territory or be subject to additional ‘secondary screening’ procedures, including in detention-like conditions in some cases. […] EU Member States are not currently required to extend temporary protection to most stateless people and those at risk of statelessness living in Ukraine. People without documentary proof of their nationality, international protection, or a residence permit in Ukraine face significant barriers to accessing protection.” Macedonian Young Lawyers Association, When There's a Will There's a Way , January-April 2022, April 2022 “However, there is a worrying practice of placing non-Ukrainians, third country nationals who have fled Ukraine, in detention upon their arrival to Poland. For example, there is a rather large group (30 persons) of non-Ukrainian students placed in the detention centre in Lesznowola, based on the court decision, due to the lack of personal identification documents.” “Third Country Nationals fleeing Ukraine also at risk of pushbacks Only two months after the escalation of conflict in Ukraine, PRAB partners already started collecting reports of pushbacks at the EU’s external, as well as internal borders, linked to people who were previously residing in Ukraine. The following testimony was collected from a vulnerable 3-member family from Afghanistan (including a mother and two children), travelling with a student from India who fled Ukraine, at the beginning of the conflict, pushed back from Croatia to BiH on 18 March: “ We crossed the border here on Siljkovaca in the village of Kramarice. We walked for an hour and then we came across 3 policemen in blue uniforms. We asked for asylum immediately, but they told us that there was no place in the camp and that we should go back. We begged them to let us pass, but they said that we should try to cross border somewhere else, that we should not try here again. Then came a van with 4 other policemen in black uniforms. They put us in a van and drove us back to the border and told us to go back to BiH.” “The single women from India, travelling with the family, stated that she fled Ukraine a few days before, where she allegedly studied. She had a student card from Ukraine. She stated that she fled Ukraine together with her brother at the very beginning when the first conflicts in Ukraine began. She left Ukraine for Romania and her brother went to Poland. Then she went to Serbia and from Serbia to BiH.” “At the border between France and Italy, seven third country nationals (3 persons from Nepal, 1 from Nigeria, 2 from Algeria, 1 from India), with regulated stay in Ukraine prior to the military offensive, were 74