Slovakia has taken in a huge number of refugees from Ukraine, with which it has a common border, and has shown solidarity in the biggest refugee crisis since the World War II, Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Wednesday, adding that Croatia too is ready to accept more refugees.

Slovakia has so far accepted 220,000 Ukrainians who fled the Russian military invasion, Božinović told a press conference after visiting the Vysne Nemecke border crossing with Ukraine together with his Slovak counterpart Roman Mikulec.

“This indeed is a huge number. You have shown what European solidarity means and the values we are all fighting for as Europeans,” Bozinovic said, commending the coordination of efforts by all people and institutions involved, both government and non-government organisations.

Croatia has so far taken in 7,000 Ukrainian refugees. It is not Ukraine’s immediate neighbour or a transit country, so these people can be expected to stay in Croatia, he said.

Considering the large refugee wave, EU member states should share this burden and Croatia is open in that regard, Bozinovic said. Croatia has previously announced its readiness to accept 20,000 Ukrainian refugees, he recalled. “However, we should not be slaves to numbers. Not just Croatia, not just Slovakia, but all member states, I am certain we will do all for their acceptance.”

The Czech Republic said on Tuesday its accommodation capacity was nearly full, and the situation in Slovakia is similar, and that is why all member states, including Croatia, should count on an increased number of refugees, Bozinovic said.

He recalled that a platform for refugees had been opened and was expected to facilitate the flow of information and cooperation. He announced that a new meeting of EU interior ministers was expected next week to discuss the coordination of refugee responses.

“We need to cooperate and show that we are really open and that together we will do the best we can in cooperation with the European Commission and the European Council to help the people in need. We don’t know how long this will last,” Bozinovic said, confident that Europe would “find the right response to the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.”

Bozinovic and Mikulec visited the border police operations centre at Sobrance where the Slovak border police and civil protection personnel presented the method of accepting displaced persons from Ukraine.