More than 500,000 people have already fled Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion last week, Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), wrote on Twitter on Monday.
UNHCR spokesman Chris Melzer also mentioned the six-digit number of people relocated to Ukrainian territory as a result of Russia’s attack on the country. At the same time, he stressed that an accurate estimate of their number is not possible at the moment.
280,000 Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Poland
So far, most refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Poland. According to the Border Guard, more than 280,000 people have flowed here since the war began. On Sunday alone, nearly 100,000 refugees crossed the border, a spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guard said.
According to the United Nations office in charge of leading and coordinating international efforts to protect refugees, almost 85,000 people fleeing Ukraine ended up in Hungary, over 36,000 in Moldova, about 32,500 in Romania, 30,000 in Slovakia, and over 300 refugees are in Belarus. UNHCR also estimates that some 34.6 thousand Ukrainians have crossed into other European countries. Due to the war, they are exempt from visa requirements in the EU and Switzerland, among others.
Germany has received 1,800 refugees from Ukraine
According to a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, about 1,800 refugees have arrived in Germany in recent days. They are mostly Ukrainians, but there are also some people from other countries, such as foreign students.
A spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry added that the relevant authorities in Germany are in the process of organizing humanitarian aid. For example, the Technisches Hilfswerk, a German institution under the federal government with responsibility for crisis management, is preparing for transports. At the EU level, there is talk of gathering medical supplies and equipment at points near the border with Ukraine. Assistance is also to be provided to countries neighboring Ukraine.
Baerbock: we will accept all Ukrainian refugees
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed that the European Union and Germany will accept all Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, speaking on Ukraine’s willingness to join the EU, she stressed that this is not a process that could be completed in a few months. Moreover, Baerbock calls on all Germans residing in Russia to consider leaving the country if their presence there is not urgently needed.
The German organization Pro Asyl, which helps refugees, welcomed the readiness of neighboring countries to accept people fleeing war. “Ukraine has also offered protection from war and persecution to many people in recent years, for example people coming from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia,” – it stressed. Ukraine has also received Afghans evacuated from Kabul and international students. At the same time, the Pro Asyl organization appealed to allow also non-Ukrainians coming from the war-ravaged area to cross the border with neighboring countries.
Source: www.tagesschau.de, insidegermany.co