Moscow Region Receives 44 Refugees from Ukraine’s East

MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) — Some 44 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the Moscow region after legally crossing the border, the region’s Minister of Labour and Social Protection Olga Zabralova said Monday.

“The Moscow region has received additional 44 people from Kramatorsk, 27 of them children aged from 2 to 15. All the children were accompanied by their adult relatives – grandmothers and mothers. The people crossed the border legally. They all hold immigration cards,” Zabralova said.

The number of refugees fleeing to Russia from Ukraine’s eastern regions has grown dramatically since the beginning of June. The Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine, alone has received 110,000 Ukrainian citizens in the first two weeks of the month.

The Moscow region has accommodated 136 refugees from Ukraine, including 91 children.

The latest refugees were placed in a former camp facility, equipped with beds, sleeping necessities, water and electricity.

“The social protection staff have organized the collection of humanitarian aid. People have all things and clothes necessary,” the minister said.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered last week to create a humanitarian corridor for civilian evacuation from the battle zones. Ukraine’s Security Service promised to build roadblocks for residents’ safe escape from the areas under the national special operation.

Since mid-April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation in the east of the country to suppress the independence movement. The violence intensified after the People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk declared their independence from Ukraine in May.

Moscow has called for an immediate stop to this punitive operation, which has already led to dozens of casualties.

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