As tensions in Ukraine boil, Eastern Europe is bracing for an influx of migrants.

As tensions with Russia continue to boil, countries such as Poland, Romania, and Latvia are bracing for a possible influx of thousands of Ukrainians.

In preparation for possibly hundreds of thousands of people leaving Ukraine in the event that the conflict with Russia intensifies, countries in Eastern Europe are putting plans in place, with some Polish cities now offering available accommodations and Romania contemplating refugee camps.

It is still very much alive on the European Union's eastern flank that memories of the Iron Curtain and Soviet influence are still very much alive. People are fearful of any instability that could hit their economies and unleash a wave of migration similar to that which occurred in the 1990s during the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.

Russia has more than 100,000 soldiers stationed near Ukraine, and the United States has warned that an assault on the country may begin within days of the deployment of the forces. Moscow categorically rejects any such preparations and accuses the West of being "hysterical."

Yet, administrations and communities along the Ukrainian border, from north to south, are preparing to accept refugees if the situation warrants it, according to reports.

According to official figures, Poland is home to between one and two million Ukrainians, the vast majority of whom have settled in the country for work. The nation announced on Monday that it was ready for the worst-case scenario. Marcin Przydacz, deputy foreign minister, told Catholic network Radio Plus that he was "getting ready for a huge number of people in order to be better prepared."

According to the mayor of Ciechanow, a town in eastern Poland with a population of around 44,000 people, his city is ready and willing to house about 80 migrants in a hotel within 48 hours at a cost of 140 zlotys per night, which includes meals.

In an interview with Reuters, Krzysztof Kosinski said he had been guaranteed that the state budget would completely pay the expenditures.

On Sunday, the northern village of Elblag announced that it had 420 available parking spaces. Torun, a city in central Poland, claimed to have 96 refugee accommodation spaces. The city of Czestochowa, in the south, claims to have 1,100 parking spaces.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES