On Friday, March 18, the number of Ukrainian citizens who arrived in Poland exceeded 2 million people, the Polish Border Guard Service reports.
“Today, that is, March 18, by 9:00 am, the number of refugees from Ukraine exceeded 2 million people. Mostly they are women with children,” the Twitter message says.
The number of refugees from Ukraine to Moldova is gradually declining, the head of the Emergency Situations inspectorate of the Interior Ministry of Moldova, Alexander Oprea, said.
“The number of refugees arriving on the territory of Moldova is gradually decreasing. According to the Border police, the flow of refugees to Moldova began to decline from March 8. At the same time, refugees continue to leave Moldova for the EU countries,” he said.
He said that from March 8 to March 13, some 242 bus trips were made and more than 8,000 people were transported to the border with Romania. Over 4,000 people from Ukraine arrived in Romania by train, including a special trip for refugees organized by the Moldavian Railway.
Oprea added that special trips for refugees have been organized in recent days: several trips have been made to Istanbul, Frankfurt am Main, Tel Aviv. The sky over Moldova remains closed, flights are operated only by special order of the State of Emergency Commission.
“If as of March 8, some 128,759 refugees were staying in Moldova, then as of March 14, there were 102,836 people, of whom 48,405 were children. There are 96 authorized accommodation centers in Moldova, two special centers organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. More than 4,000 places for accommodation remain available,” Oprea said.
In connection with the situation in Ukraine, the Moldovan parliament declared a state of emergency in the country for a period of 60 days, starting from February 24.
The UK has sent humanitarian aid to Moldova for Ukrainian citizens who are fleeing the country due to the Russian invasion, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.
“We are providing vital humanitarian aid to those fleeing Russia’s horrific attack on Ukraine. This shipment of hygiene kits and blankets to Moldova will ensure that those most affected by the conflict receive the crucial help they need,” the minister said on Twitter.
Ukrainian refugees will have the right to live and work in the European Union for up to three years in accordance with the emergency plan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported.
It is emphasized that more than half [454,000] went to Poland, 116,000 to Hungary, 67,000 to Slovakia, 45,000 to Romania and 79,000 to Moldova, which is not part of the EU. The information notes that refugees from Ukraine already have a 90-day visa-free access to the EU, but “this unprecedented change in EU law guarantees their status after this period.
