Russia has spent about 18 billion rubles ($2.75 million) on assisting, accommodating and processing asylum-seekers coming into the country from Ukraine since 2014, Kirill Adzinov, chief of Russia's Interior Ministry's visa department, said on Friday
KALININGRAD (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2019) Russia has spent about 18 billion rubles ($2.75 million) on assisting, accommodating and processing asylum-seekers coming into the country from Ukraine since 2014, Kirill Adzinov, chief of Russia's Interior Ministry's visa department, said on Friday.Earlier on Friday, Kaliningrad hosted a meeting of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Working Group on Migration and Integration. Lawmakers, representatives of non-governmental organizations and experts from Russia, Germany, Sweden and Latvia took part.
"The 2014 events in Ukraine tested Russia's preparedness to welcome a massive influx of forced migrants onto its territories. Russia took in more than 450,000 people that sought asylum. About 18 billion rubles was spent on the efforts to assist, process and provide accommodation and medical attention to these people," Adzinov said at the meeting.
Adzinov also noted that 271,000 Ukrainian citizens applied for asylum in 2014, 149,000 applied in 2015, 2,000 in 2016, and 9,500 in 2017. Currently, there are less than 80,000 people in Russia with a temporary asylum status and about 500 with a refugees status.
