05:49, 22 June 2014

Migration Service: over 100 refugees from Ukraine arrived in Sochi

Since the start of armed clashes in Eastern Ukraine, more than a hundred people from the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions arrived in Sochi and applied for the refugee status, said the local migration service. The authorities recommend them to leave Sochi, as there are no refugee camps, where the Ukrainian citizens had expected to find shelter, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"We can't accommodate all the refugees in Sochi; we have no camps here. But in an emergency, we can provide free assistance in settlement, nutrition and essential commodities. But as a rule, an exception is made for large families or elderly and sick people. We have placed 6-7 such families in the Khosta District," Victor Filonov, First Deputy Mayor of Sochi, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), more than half of the refugees who arrived from Ukraine stay in the territory of the Southern Federal District (SFD). Most of the refugees arrive to the pre-border Rostov Region.

Let us remind you that earlier rights defenders expressed doubts on the figures on the number of refugees announced by the authorities, finding the official data overstated; however, they also criticized the authorities for poorly organized reception.

Author: Svetlana Kravchenko

Source: CK correspondent