More than 2 million people fled Ukraine because of the Russian invasion.
The European continent is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said in Bucharest on Thursday. He stressed that Russia’s „illegal, unjustified and unprovoked” aggression against Ukraine brought enormous suffering, and that, as in any war, civilians are the ones paying the highest price. Lenarčič said that more than two million Ukrainian refugees had come to the European Union in less than two weeks.
Against this background, he emphasised the Community support for refugees and the neighbouring countries hosting them. The European Commission is working on several fronts, initial humanitarian aid funds have been mobilised under the auspices of the UN, and this three-month funding is fully secured, the Brussels official said. The amount of aid granted amounts to over 100 million Euro.
The European Commissioner also mentioned the creation of logistics hubs in Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Janez Lenarčič stressed that Romania was „one of the most active and constructive members of the European Union in terms of its contribution to the civil protection mechanism”. The Romanian Minister of Interior, Lucian Bode, has said, in turn, that Romania will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the war. He explained that, so far, the Romanian government has allocated over 40 million euros to manage the mobile camps for refugees and to pay for their accommodation and food.
The labour ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania signed a joint statement on Thursday pledging to work together to help Ukrainian refugees integrate into the labor market and society during the armed conflict. Also on Thursday, the Romanian Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, announced that Ukrainian preschool, pupil and student refugees in Romania would be able to enrol in educational institutions. They will benefit from rights similar to those of the Romanian citizens, from accommodation to scholarships.
„We are grateful to the Governments of the Republic of Moldova and Romania, and all countries neighbouring Ukraine for their rapid response and generosity,” said Lars Johan Lonnback, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Moldova. „The number one priority is to ensure that all those fleeing the war have protection, shelter, basic needs and support services, including psychosocial assistance”, Lonnback also said. In the past two weeks, more than 350,000 refugees from Ukraine have entered Romania, most of them in transit.
(Eugen Cojocariu, Radio Romania International)
