A few days after a month since the war began in Ukraine, almost 3.2 million people have already fled the country, according to the United Nations. From Spain, the response of individuals to help the Ukrainians is being overwhelming, and especially, that of the Ukrainian community that resides here. This is the case of lawyers who live and practice in Spain, such as Liliya Mykolayiv, CEO of the Mykolayiv Kmit and associates law firm and an expert in immigration law who arrived in our country two decades ago. “The first week we canceled almost all the meetings of the firm to focus on managing humanitarian aid and providing information to Ukrainians to enter and leave the country,” says Mykolayiv.
Something that also happened to Aleksandr Voroniuk, a practicing lawyer in Spain since 2003 and a collaborator with the Legal Orientation Service of the Madrid Bar Association on immigration matters since 2014. “All my private work has been displaced, all labor matters and intellectual property, I have set them aside in the face of the massive influx of inquiries from Ukrainians about how to leave the country, receive temporary protection in Spain or how to enter Ukraine to pick up their relatives”, he confesses.
In this same situation is Daria Kvasnevska, director of the law firm Kvasnevska & Partners, who has been practicing in Spain for eight years, of which the last four at the head of her own law firm, dedicated to defending the rights of foreigners in Spain. “We respond to dozens of emails and calls that we have received since the beginning of the war, free of charge. In the office we are extending the day to serve the largest number of people. There is a lot of misinformation in Ukraine and many do not flee the war for fear of feeling helpless here”, explains Kvasnevska.
For their part, in the Atanesov Honcharenko office in Barcelona, their partners Stanislav Atanesov and Mijail Honcharenko, point out that since the conflict began they have gone from advising investors to assisting refugees. “We do it to help the conflict and completely free of charge. As long as we can help, “they say.
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From Atanesov Honcharenko they affirm that their clients are very concerned about the families that have remained in Ukraine. “The Ukrainian community is still confused by the situation, nobody wants to believe what happened. Those who have managed to leave the country are worried about what will come, those who have children about their future”, they lament.
In this sense, Kvasnevska reveals that what the Ukrainians with whom she speaks transmit to her, and what she experiences herself, is that her day to day begins by asking her relatives if they are okay and checking the news, to know the progress of the war, with a knot in his stomach, and investigating how he can help. “My level of involvement and occupation is complete,” she says.
And it is that as Voroniuk points out, the Ukrainian community has completely turned to help Ukraine from all fronts. “Each one does what they can according to their means, I, as a lawyer, do what is within my reach with legal assistance,” he highlights. Although he also recognizes that many of the queries that come to him go beyond what is strictly legal.
“Now the situation is such that the urgent thing is to cover basic needs: how do I leave the country, where can I locate myself, who will receive me, etc,” Mykolayiv specifies. As the lawyer explains, it is very important for the Ukrainian population to know all the details to correctly manage their trip and arrival in Spain, such as what documentation they have to prepare, how to solve the problems that arise to obtain it, or how to correctly carry out their departure by border.
Mykolayiv admits that it is very difficult psychologically to cope with what is happening, and emphasizes that the Ukrainians residing in Spain are experiencing this war almost directly through calls from relatives and through social networks. “We are connected and we are witnesses to all that horror,” he stresses.
For Voroniuk, whose parents live in Ukraine, the tension and worry are growing every day as the conflict continues to unfold. “They are in a border town with Romania that is quiet for now, and at 80 they don’t want to go anywhere,” he says. However, he admits that if the situation worsens in that region he will go after them “even if they don’t want to”.
Temporary protection of Ukrainians in Spain
- For whom. This special protection can be requested by Ukrainian nationals or residents of Ukraine who are or arrive in Spain and cannot return due to the invasion, as well as their families: spouses or recognized de facto partners, minor children and other dependent relatives.
- What does it consist of. This mechanism establishes for these people residence and work permits for self-employment and others for a duration of one year, extendable for another two. As well as access to education for minors, professional training, social assistance, adequate accommodation and medical care.
- Where to request it. The request must be submitted by personal appearance before the national police at the reception, reception and referral centers of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, or at the police stations authorized to do so.
- urgent resolution. These files must be processed urgently and resolved within a maximum period of 24 hours. The notification of the resolution will be electronic, by post, in person or directly at the reception centers and, ultimately, through the BOE.
- Duration. The special protection will last until it is deactivated, and will be automatically extended for periods of one year.
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