Close to 40 000 Ukrainians have registered for temporary protection in Bulgaria
A total of 39 537 Ukrainians have registered for temporary protection in Bulgaria, the dedicated government portal said on April 4.
Since Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, a total of 144 311 Ukrainians have entered Bulgaria and 65 115 remain in the country, according to the update.
Twenty-five thousand are children.
A total of 39 646 Ukrainians had been accommodated in Bulgaria, the update said.
The UN refugee agency, citing figures for April 3, said that more than 4.2 million Ukrainians had fled the country.
The largest number, more than 2.45 million, had gone to Poland, 643 058 to Romania, 394 740 to Moldova and 390 302 to Hungary.
The International Organization for Migration said that as of the end of March, there were more than 6.48 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
On April 4, EU ministers adopted legislative amendments making it possible for EU countries to redirect resources from cohesion policy funds and the Fund for European Aid for the Most Deprived (FEAD) to assist the refugees escaping the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
The move will make available more than 17 billion euro for EU countries to assist Ukrainian refugees.
“The swift amendment of the legislation on EU funds is a clear statement of the EU’s continued solidarity with the refugees from Ukraine and with the member states hosting them, in particular those sharing borders with Ukraine,” a statement by the Council of the EU said.
“This is an important step in ensuring member states have sufficient resources to meet the growing needs for housing, education and healthcare,” the statement said.
(Photo: UNHCR/Chris Melzer)
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