More than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have trekked to Western Europe amid the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with over half relocating to Germany, according to news reports Tuesday.
Germany has accepted 64,000 refugees so far under the European Union‘s activation of the Temporary Protection Directive, which allows refugees to stay in an EU country of their choosing for a year. Those eligible for the program do not need a visa to enter EU countries. France has accepted just under 5,000 Ukrainian refugees so far but also serves as a mediator for applicants hoping to arrive in the United Kingdom.
“We have close to 5,000 people from Ukraine who have arrived in France. It’s a current estimate; every day, we have new arrivals,” French Minister Delegate for Citizenship Marlene Schiappa said in an interview with French broadcaster France Info on Tuesday, according to CNN.
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France accused the United Kingdom of being slow when it comes to accepting refugees, saying roughly 600 Ukrainians who arrived in Calais were redirected to other destinations after they were unable to reach the U.K.
“It’s a mess, to be clear,” Pierre-Henri Dumont, member of the National Assembly of France, said.
British officials have sworn to speed up vetting processes. Ben Wallace, the defense minister for the U.K., said the country would accept 200,000 Ukrainian refugees who have family connections in the U.K., and Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised Britain would be “as generous as possible” when accepting refugees, according to Euronews. 2,200 refugees have arrived in Ireland.
Italy has accepted 17,000 Ukrainian refugees so far, according to the Italian wire service ANSA. Nearly 1 million refugees are expected to arrive in Italy, who are family of 250,000 Ukrainian immigrants already living in the country.
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Greece, Moldova, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are also accepting the over 2 million refugees who have fled from Ukraine, with Poland accepting over a million refugees. According to the United Nations, as many as 4 million refugees are expected to flee the war-torn country.
