VORONEZH, July 17 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Ryazan Region in the Central Federal District is now hosting another 116 Ukrainians, including 39 children, bringing the total number of refugees in the region close to 600, the regional government told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
On Wednesday, a special Russian Emergencies Ministry flight arrived in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport with Ukrainian residents on board. The Ukrainians were escorted to temporary accommodation centers (TACs) in Ryazan Region.
"In total, 116 people arrived tonight, among them 39 children," said the agency’s representative.
The refugees have been settled in the two TACs in the Mikhailovsky district and the city of Ryazan, according to the local Emergencies Ministry department. The refugees are supplied with drinking water, food and essentials.
The total number of those who arrived from Ukraine in an organized group is now 320 people, the local government reported. Another 50 families, about 250 people, arrived independently and are staying with their relatives and friends. The refugees have been officially registered, and therefore, are entitled to the region’s assistance.
Since June, thousands of Ukrainian refugees have been forced to leave their native country and to seek shelter in neighboring Russia amid ongoing battles between pro-Kiev forces and independence supporters in the country’s east.
According to the recent UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates, about 110,000 people have fled Ukraine to Russia since the beginning of the crisis.
