Poland ready to take in at least 10,000 injured Ukrainian soldiers

[April 19, 2022]  WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's health service has capacity to treat at least 10,000 injured Ukrainian soldiers, the Polish prime minister said on Tuesday, as Russia launches a new offensive in eastern Ukraine. 

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks to the media as he arrives for European Union leaders' summit, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters during a visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv that Poland was already treating "several dozen" soldiers and was prepared to take in more.

"We are ready to take in at least 10,000 (soldiers), if necessary," he said. "We are doing everything to take in and treat all injured soldiers from Ukraine."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday told CNN that between 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died so far in the war with Russia and another 10,000 have been injured.

Morawiecki was visiting Lviv to open a Polish-funded "container town" built to provide temporary accommodation for 300-350 refugees in portable cabins.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Edmund Blair)

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