Men in Poland seek out single Ukrainian women amid refugee trafficking fears

ITV News posed as a young Ukrainian woman and responded to adverts from men in Poland, as Correspondent Rupert Evelyn reports

Amid fears people traffickers and abusers may be targeting Ukrainian refugees, ITV News has found some men in Poland advertising accommodation exclusively to single Ukrainian women.

Approximately 2.3 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland during the war - a refugee crisis the United Nations warns is an opportunity for exploitation.

Security has been stepped up at the Polish border because of these concerns. Officials told ITV News they haven't spotted anything untoward yet, but an ITV News investigation found evidence of men actively seeking out single Ukrainian women.

Posing as a girl in her 20s on a well known Polish site, ITV News responded to adverts from the aforementioned men.

One man replied saying there was no need to register a tenancy with him anywhere.

"And if you want, when you come to me, we will go to the registration point," he added.

"Unfortunately, this is not a room...just a free bed... this is a big apartment... so another person will easily fit."

Another man asked: "Do you have a husband or a boyfriend in the war? Do you plan on bringing someone back here? Because I only agree to one person."

Joanna Garnier, from anti-trafficking charity La Strada, said the adverts found by ITV News were "a fraud".

"We know the cases of, for example, accommodation for sex, we've known for years it happens. But now, for me, its disgusting," Ms Garnier said.