The consequences of the war in Ukraine are not only direct, but also indirectly affect the authorities and societies of other European countries, especially neighboring ones. Sudden immigration of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians to Poland met with a huge spontaneous response from individual persons and non-governmental organizations, but in many areas more formalized measures were necessary to make the aid official, properly organized and coordinated. These actions, taken from the very beginning by local governments, required quick response, openness and flexibility, and at the same time considerable material resources. The official registration of newcomers and the inclusion of their children in the educational system are examples of challenges that fall within the competence of local governments. In the Polish three-level system of self-government authorities, the broadest powers are assigned to communes, but often they are not tied to adequate resources. At the same time, Polish local governments are constantly dealing with the effects of the recentralization policy pursued by the right-wing Polish government, especially in terms of financing. Some municipalities have previously developed policies towards migrants and procedures for cooperation with non-governmental organizations supporting migrants, still in the period of intense economic migration from Ukraine and other Central European states, but these tools, although useful, are not sufficient in a dynamically developing and unpredictable situation. The aim of the chapter is to find out how local governments dealt with new challenges and whether they encountered systemic and/or material barriers in implementing measures. The chapter begins with an analysis of the evolution of the legal and systemic conditions of local governments in Poland, which allows the assessment of their potential to respond to the needs of refugees. Then, the chapter describes the challenges for local governments that arose as a result of the situation at the beginning of the war and the measures taken in the field of accepting, registering refugees, supporting their accommodation and including refugee children and youth in the Polish school system. The