The EU will take in Ukrainian refugees without asking them to apply for asylum first, it was announced tonight, as hundreds of thousands of terrified citizens continue to flee their homes amid the ongoing Russian invasion, writes dailymail.co.uk.

The decision was agreed unanimously between all countries in the 27-nation bloc on Sunday, following a meeting of its interior ministers.

The open-door-style policy will remain in place for up to three years in a bid to tackle what is fast becoming Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis in decades.

It comes as nearly 370,000 frightened Ukrainians have already fled Vladimir Putin"s forces for neighbouring countries, with queues at the border with Poland stretching back more than eight miles.