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As war rages on in neighbouring Ukraine, Slovakia is dealing with the biggest refugee crisis in its history, but the welcoming response of its people and the government is in stark contrast with the last migrant crisis in 2015.

Vyn Nemeck is one of the easternmost villages in Slovakia, lying right on the border and is home to the busiest Slovak border crossing with Ukraine. On the other side lies Uzhhorod the centre of Carpathian Ruthenia and today also the centre for Ukrainian refugees arriving in the country.

The main road to the border does not lead through a village but via a bypass built to ease movement for local citizens. Approximately one kilometre before the border, there is a long line of parked cars, vans, and buses, with only a small space left for cars that need to get closer.

Most of them belong to volunteers who came here to help. Besides Slovak vehicles, many are from Germany and Czechia.

We drove here from Frankfurt right after the invasion started, said Leo. Me and some of my friends packed the van with food, blankets and clothes and drove here, he continued. After they unloaded the material aid, they took as many refugees as they could to Frankfurt and repeated the journey.

This is the third time we are here, he added.

Leos friend Joakim says, solidarity here is incredible. We are tired, but it is worth it.

Coordination improved

Just behind the borders, a provisional tent town has sprung up, providing help for refugees from various religious and civil organisations.

The scene resembles a beehive, with refugees slowly pouring in from the border checkpoint into Slovakia, where they are immediately approached by volunteers offering help and guidance. In this provisional camp, people can get free food, clothes or even some sleep until they get transport elsewhere.

Material aid is organised in two places in Sobrance, the closest town to the border. One belongs to the church and one to a local entrepreneur who offered help.

It is more organised now than it was when it started, also on the Ukrainian side. Sometimes I feel like there is too much help. Some of the tents are repeating themselves, said Pavol, a monk coordinating the volunteers of the Order of Malta a Catholic order that has set up several tents.

In the beginning, it was just us and a few independent volunteers. Then other organisations came, and the state offered support as well, he said.

The response of Slovakia and other Visegrad countries is surprising. When people were fleeing from Syria, the government was against redistribution quotas for refugees, and most Slovaks were against accepting them.

Only a fraction is staying

According to the latest information from the UN Refugee Agency, as many as 229,000 refugees have crossed the Ukrainian-Slovak borders so far.

Most of them do not stay in Slovakia but continue to other places around Europe where they have friends or family.

In Vyn Nemeck, many people are offering rides to Bratislava, Brno, Vienna, or even Germany. Some of them wait patiently, with signs, while organisations have their own buses or collect people for buses offered by others.

The government set up a refugee camp in Humenn, a nearby city for those who have nowhere to go. Regional municipalities are helping with their own capacities.

According to the interior ministry, only about 6,000 Ukrainian refugees have so far asked for asylum.

One of those wishing to stay is Olga, a teacher from Kyiv, and her 16-year old son Gleb.

I didnt want to leave, but when I heard about the attack on the nuclear power plant, I changed my mind, she said.

Olga explained that she did not expect Russia to invade, and neither did her friends and colleagues. We were just living our lives. I dont understand why Putin is doing this to us, she said.

Olga and Gleb are some of the more fortunate ones as they have friends in Slovakia who decided to take them in. Asked if she wants to go back home, she said yes, without hesitation.

I love Ukraine, she concluded.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]

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Dispatch from Slovak border: 'We don't understand why Putin is doing this to us' - EURACTIV