The neighbouring countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Romania have revealed that about 26,000 refugees have entered their respective countries, but few have applied for international protection.
According to an article from Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, about 15,800 Ukrainian arrivals have crossed the border in the last 24 hours, as the Interior Minister of Moldova, Ana Revenco, revealed.
In addition, about 10,000 refugees are estimated to have entered Romania, as Romania’s Interior Ministry has reported on February 25, Schengen.News reports.
However, both ministries have revealed that fewer refugees applied for international protection – less than 100 in Moldova and about 11 in Romania, as the incoming immigrants, are headed towards the EU Member States, especially Poland and the Czech Republic.
Moreover, the latter has scraped the entry ban imposed for Ukrainians, in addition to all other restrictions announced due to COVID-19.
“Due to the outbreak of the international armed conflict that hit the territory of Ukraine, it is cancelled entry ban and all obligations related to the rules against the spread of Covid-19 stipulated by a special protective measure for persons who are in the territory of the Czechia they enter the territory of Ukraine, which they left due to the outbreak of an international armed forces conflict,” the statement issued by the Czech Ministry of Health, revealed.
In addition, the Icelandic Ministry of Health has removed Ukraine from the list of safe countries, meaning that asylum applications from there will be prioritized in comparison with those from other countries that don’t have any threatening situation in their home countries.
“No special assessment has been made of the situation in the country, as there is complete uncertainty about how conditions will develop. The situation in Ukraine is expected to be assessed as events unfold, and news of the situation in the country is received,” the press release reads.
Hungary is also starting its preparations for Ukrainian refugees, as about 600,000 of them will be settled by the Hungarian Defence Forces. However, the latter hasn’t yet announced how it plans to accommodate the refugees.
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While the Polish Minister has announced that his government is expecting around one million refugees, Germany has offered assistance to Poland to accommodate the influx of immigrants and pointed out that it doesn’t rule out high numbers of immigrants to reach the Central European country.
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