MOSCOW, July 28 (RIA Novosti) - The number of refugees accommodated in temporary settlements in various regions of Russia has almost reached 33,000, said the representative of Russian interagency command group to RIA Novosti on Monday.
“We opened 15 additional temporary settlements this weekend, 12 of them on Sunday," the representative said. According to the operations officer, 32,970 Ukrainian refugees were accommodated in Russia as of Monday morning.
The refugees are mainly settled in the Central, Southern, North Caucasian and Volga federal districts, as well as in Crimea and Sevastopol.
The refugee inflow to Russia has grown tremendously since June, as the clashes between the Donbas independence supporters and Kiev security forces continue. According to the statistics of Russian Emergencies Ministry, most of them are staying with their friends and relatives. According to the Russian Federal Migration Service more than 500,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Russia since April.
The Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov said earlier this month that at least 28,700 of the refugees are children. He wrote on Instagram last Saturday that more than 1,200 Ukrainian orphans are still waiting to be evacuated from the conflict zone in Donbas.
