Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, more than 10 million of the nation’s 41 million people have been driven from their homes. A third have left the country, producing the fastest moving refugee crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It’s mostly women and children who’ve fled, given that Ukraine restricts men ages 18 to 60 from departing. They’ve been well-received so far in neighboring states, in contrast to the mixed reception shown to asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa during a crisis in 2015. By a unanimous vote, the members of the European Union adopted a plan giving Ukrainian refugees full access to the bloc for as long as three years.

1. What’s a refugee?

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country, according to the UNHCR. Under the 1951 U.N. convention on the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol, which are the modern legal framework for asylum, refugees must be able to show they’ll be persecuted at home based on race, religion, nationality, political conviction or social group. But agreements in Europe, Africa and South America expanded the definition to include those fleeing generalized violence.

2. Where are Ukrainians going?

While about 6.5 million of the displaced people have stayed in Ukraine, mainly in the country’s west, about 3.4 million have sought refuge abroad, including more than 2 million who entered Poland, according to U.N. data. The Polish government set up reception points along the 500-kilometer (310-mile) shared border, with citizens mobilizing to help. Poles and Ukrainians have similar cultures and languages. Relations haven’t always been warm: Poland ruled over large parts of Ukraine for centuries, suppressing expressions of Ukrainian identity. But ties strengthened over the past two decades, with Warsaw backing Kyiv’s tilt away from Russia and toward the EU. Before the war, Poland was the main destination for about 1 million Ukrainians working abroad. Other primary destinations for the refugees are Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia. As the war grinds on, people are likely to move on from temporary shelters on the borders. As of March 21, more than 225,000 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in Germany.

3. What explains the relatively positive reception?

For EU citizens, the war in Ukraine is nearby. For many, it triggers a specter of Russian expansion that is part of the collective memory. Also, Ukrainians look like their neighboring Europeans, and are predominantly white and Christian. The earlier wave was made up largely of Muslim Arabs and Asians from Syria, Iraq, North Africa and Afghanistan, and they arrived at a time when European fears of Islamic extremism were high. The Ukrainian refugees are mainly women, children and the elderly, whereas those in 2015 were mostly men. So far, even far-right anti-immigration nationalists like France’s Marine Le Pen are taking a welcoming approach. But not all the refugees are being treated equally. People of African, Middle Eastern and Asian heritage who were working or studying in Ukraine have faced discrimination and xenophobia when trying to flee across borders, prompting the International Organization for Migration to sound the alarm. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari complained on Twitter that citizens from his country weren’t allowed seats on border-bound buses and trains in Ukraine and were denied entry into Poland.

4. Will the welcome last?

There were also outpourings of solidarity during the 2015 crisis in many countries, especially early on. That September, the photo of toddler Alan Kurdi, a Syrian refugee whose body washed up on a Turkish beach, made headlines around the world. Donations to aid agencies spiked, and populations heaped pressure on governments to do more to help. But as the refugee crisis continued, far-right nationalists stoked anti-migrant sentiment. A number of EU countries temporarily tightened border controls, while others erected fences along sections of their frontiers to keep people out. It might be different this time, not only because of shared culture but because the EU’s population is shrinking. Even before the war started, Poland and the Czech Republic leaned on Ukrainians as a source of labor. Some Ukrainian companies have already started to relocate production to the bloc. At the same time, the number of newcomers is beginning to weigh on the resources that eastern European nations have to take care of them. The welcome mat in these countries may start to be challenged.

5. What’s the EU offering the refugees?

The bloc’s Temporary Protection Directive, a never-before used mechanism, will allow Ukrainian refugees to stay for as long as a year in member states, with the possibility of two additional yearlong extensions. It promises access to a residence permit, education and work, without the requirement to go through lengthy asylum procedures.

6. What are other countries doing?

• The U.K.: The government has established a program, called Homes for Ukraine, that permits Ukrainians who wish to travel to the U.K. and who have a named sponsor there to do so. Individuals, charities, community groups and businesses are eligible to offer Ukrainians accommodation and a route to safety. Sponsored refugees will be able to live and work in the country for as many as three years and to access health care, education, government benefits, and English lessons.

• Canada: The government of Canada, home to a large Ukrainian diaspora, has launched a new pathway to fast-track applications for temporary residence for refugees. Ukrainians and immediate family members of any nationality will be able to stay in Canada for as long as three years and can apply for work permits. Many of the usual application requirements have been waived.

• The U.S.: President Biden has said his country would welcome any Ukrainian refugees who made it to the U.S., but his government hasn’t made provisions to facilitate their arrival. The U.S. did grant a special status to Ukrainian citizens already present in the U.S. when their country was invaded, allowing them to continue working or studying for 18 months without fear of deportation.