20:55, 4 March 2014

Experts doubt appeal of 143,000 residents of Ukraine for asylum in Russia

‘Matveev-Kurgan’ checkpoint in Rostov Region. Photo by Federal Customs Service, http://rosteck.ru/

The information of the Russian Frontier Service that 143,000 Ukraine residents have asked asylum in Russia is questionable, says Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the Committee "Civil Assistance".

The Frontier Service of the Russian Federation has reported that within the last two months 675,000 citizens of Ukraine have arrived in Russia; and about 143,000 have applied for asylum within the last two weeks. According to the Service, "Russian authorities capture clear signs of an impending humanitarian catastrophe."

The information about the massive inflow of refugees from Ukraine to Russia has no confirmation, Svetlana Gannushkina, the Chair of the Committee "Civil Assistance" and the manager of the network "Migration and Law" of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"We've conducted a survey by asking our employees in the border regions, namely, in the Voronezh, Belgorod and Bryansk Regions. They saw nothing of the sort. It's impossible that 140,000 people have arrived, and we didn't notice it," said Svetlana Gannushkina.

Author: Magomed Tuayev

Source: CK correspondent