Chicago's Lightfoot, Warsaw mayor work together accepting Ukrainian refugees

CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is joining forces with the mayor of Warsaw, Poland to help the people of Ukraine.

The two met virtually Thursday to discuss the needs of Ukrainian refugees.

Warsaw is currently hosting around 300,000 people who have fled their homes because of the Russian invasion, increasing the population of the Polish capital by 15-percent.

Mayor Lightfoot says Chicago is preparing to "ease the burden" by accepting and caring for its own influx of refugees.

"There’s gonna be great need. There'll be a need for basic medical supplies, mental health supports, make sure we’re doing workaround housing, jobs — everything from soup to nuts," Lightfoot said.

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"We cannot go there ourselves and help them win this war, but we can help them win it on so many different fronts. By showing that we stand united, that we pressure our governments to be tougher, that we pressure our governments to help Ukrainians as much as they can," said Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

Mayor Lightfoot says Ukrainians have been coming to the city since the 1880s, and that the city has one of the largest Polish populations outside Warsaw.