Just over 112,000 Ukrainians live in Spain, with over 20,000 residing in Madrid. Many have come together with ordinary Spaniards to donate food, clothes, blankets, and medicine to help the millions affected by the conflict with Russia.

CGTN Europe visited one of Madrid's main collection points outside the city's leading Ukrainian supermarket, Ucramarket. 

One man told CGTN Europe, "I would have never have expected this many people to donate. People are coming from all over Madrid. There are other collection points all around the city, but most people are now coming here."

Another woman said, "I feel I have to help others. It's who we are. We have to help them with everything they need. We must send food, send medicine, and help in any way we can."

Spaniards giving donations 

The donations collected in Madrid will be sent to refugees, primarily in Poland and Romania.  

The two countries have taken the majority of the estimated one million people who've already fled Ukraine.  

Similar collections are taking place in cities and towns all over Spain, including Barcelona, Malaga, and Valencia.

Priority has now shifted away from clothes and blankets to medical supplies and food, the volunteers here saying the collections will continue for as long as is necessary. 

Yulia Kolyukhova, a Volunteer Coordinator, told CGTN Europe what was happening in her country was a tragedy.

"We feel really sad, we feel distraught, desperate, we feel like we can't do enough to help them. It's for our families and relatives. We're trying our best here, with everyone volunteering. It's a situation that makes you want to cry."

The European Union (EU) estimates the total number of Ukrainian refugees could eventually rise to four million, causing the continent's greatest humanitarian crisis since the Balkans conflict in the 1990s. 

The need for essential donations like these could not be greater.