MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) – Around 60,000 Ukrainians from the country’s turbulent southeastern regions are currently seeking asylum in Russia, according to the head of the Russian migration authority.
“Some 60,000 people [from Ukraine] have requested refugee status or temporary shelter in Russia,” Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) Director Konstantin Romodanovsky told journalists Tuesday.
Romodanovsky said the number of people granted asylum by Russian authorities is going to grow dramatically in the upcoming days following the adoption of a regulation that shortens the waiting time to just three days, from the previous three months. The FMS expects as many as 100,000 Ukrainians to file applications.
Last Tuesday, the number of applicants was 48,000. The refugee inflow to Russia has grown tremendously since June, as clashes between pro-Kiev forces and the local militia continue in eastern Ukraine.
According to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 1,100 people have been killed in Kiev’s military operation in the eastern regions of Ukraine since mid-April and over 100,000 have fled the conflict zone.
