According to the UN, a million people have fled to neighboring countries in the seven days since Russia invaded Ukraine. This was announced by the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, on Twitter on Thursday. “For many more millions in Ukraine, it is time the guns fell silent so life-saving humanitarian assistance could be delivered.”
Most people have fled to safety in Poland, where 575,100 war refugees arrived as of Thursday, according to border guards. In Brussels, the EU interior ministers discussed a proposal from the EU Commission, with which the legal framework for the admission of people should be set uniformly.
According to the border police, more than 139,000 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Romania so far. Almost 88,000 of them have already traveled to another country, according to data from the border police. The refugees came through the four border crossings between Romania and Ukraine and the border with Moldova. The country lies between Ukraine and Romania. According to border guards, around 95,000 people from Ukraine arrived in Poland on Wednesday, and around 27,100 more people had crossed the border by Thursday morning. Ukraine called for corridors through which people can be supplied with relief supplies. Children must be brought to safety, food, medicine and ambulances are urgently needed, said an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on her arrival at the EU Council building in Brussels that she was assuming that the ministers would agree in principle on the Commission proposal. It will then take about a week before the guidelines are set in motion, said the SPD politician. It is not yet foreseeable how many people will come to Germany from the war zone. The EU Commissioner responsible, Ylva Johansson, praised the receptiveness of people in Poland, for example. At a special meeting on Sunday, the ministers unanimously declared their willingness to take in the refugees from Ukraine quickly and unbureaucratically. The legal framework stipulates that people do not have to apply for asylum, but receive a residence permit directly as war refugees.
Baerbock: violation of human rights
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating possible war crimes against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine following a request from 39 member states. The investigation will begin immediately and will include all past and current allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide committed in any part of Ukraine’s territory since November 21, 2013, Hague Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also called for an investigation into the events. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an attack on the Ukrainian people: on their freedom and on their fundamental rights,” said the Green politician in a video message to the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva. “This is about nothing less than the most serious violations of human rights.” A commission of inquiry into Ukraine is needed “to investigate all human rights violations that Russia has committed since the beginning of its military aggression”. (reuters)