MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – About 18,000 Ukrainians have settled in temporary accommodation centers across Russia, Emergencies Ministry spokesperson, Alexander Drobyshevsky said Wednesday.
“Over the past 24 hours, two temporary accommodation centers, which house 357 people, have been established to render assistance to Ukrainian citizens. The total number of centers is 252, with 17,828 people in all,” Drobyshevsky told journalists.
The Emergencies Ministry spokesperson added that rescue workers have already transported more than 5,000 people.
The ministry has dispatched 396 tons of humanitarian aid to the regions accommodating refugees from the crisis-torn Ukraine.
According to Drobyshevsky, all administrative bodies and forces of the Emergencies Ministry’s southern regional center are in a state of emergency. The Central, the Volga and the North Caucasus regional centers have been put on high alert.
The flow of refugees from Ukraine’s southeast has increased significantly since June, as tensions in the regions gripped by fierce battles between pro-Kiev forces and independence supporters intensified.
Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that about 110,000 people have fled Ukraine to Russia since the beginning of the crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the government to take urgent measures to support regions sheltering Ukrainian refugees.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev earlier this week finalized the list of members for the task force that is to manage temporary social arrangements and employment for the refugees.