About 3.7Mln Ukrainian Refugees Applied For Temporary Protection In EU - Commissioner

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2022) About 3.7 million refugees from Ukraine have requested temporary protection in the EU, while another 3 million have returned home, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Monday.

"The figures that we have is that 6.7 million Ukrainians have entered into the European Union ... and approximately three million has gone back. We have 3.7 million that have applied for temporary protection. That means, I guess, that there are approximately 3.7 million Ukrainians in the EU territory, some are here but have not applied (for temporary protection), because they plan to go back. Between 3.2 to 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees on EU territory right now," Johansson said at a press conference after the informal meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers in Brussels.

Some refugees who requested temporary asylum have already returned to Ukraine. Meanwhile, some refugees are in the EU, but the authorities have not been contacted for registration yet. There are also those who registered twice in different European countries, according to Johansson.

She added that the largest number of Ukrainian refugees in relation to the local population are in the Czech Republic. This is followed by Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia.

Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that over the course of the crisis in Ukraine, 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the European Union, and three million are still staying in the EU.