It's time for Europe to prepare for refugee wave from Ukraine
4 March 2014, 01:32
Revolutionary unrest in Ukraine forced tens of thousands of citizens of this country to flee. Most of them went to Russia. However, if the situation in Ukraine will remain volatile, the flow of immigrants to Europe will increase.
Over the last two weeks of February, more than 143,000 citizens of Ukraine appealed to Russia for asylum. This is the data from the Federal Migration Service. Moreover, more than 675,000 Ukrainian passport holders moved to Russia in the first two months of this year. The Border Service has stated that 'the revolutionary chaos' in Ukraine forces people to flee abroad and threatens Russia with humanitarian catastrophe. Especially it is hard for those regions that share border with Ukraine, for Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Rostovskaya region and Krasnodarskiy Krai. Vasily Golubev, Rostov Region Governor made a statement ragarding this:
'Amount of Ukrainian citizens have significantly increased in Rostovskaya region. People are concerned about the situation of uncertainty that prevailed in places of their permanent residence in the south-east of Ukraine, and in the central and western Ukraine. People worry, they are concerned for their own lives and for the lives of their loved ones.'
Political crisis drives citizens of Ukraine not only to the East, but to the West as well. And Europe is well aware that the situation may worsen over time. For example, even before the escalation of the conflict and overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, Romanian President Traian Basescu said that his country is ready to accept Ukrainian refugees. However, the amount of them, that Romania can accept according to him is quite modest, only 3,500 people. However, Romania can hardly be considered the main target for Ukrainian migrants. Most of them will choose other European countries, says Dmitry Abzalov, the vice president of the Center for Strategic Communications:
'Most migrants in case of force majeure, and that is what is happening now, will go from Ukraine to Poland. This area, which is the closest, directly borders with Ukraine. Poland has actively supported Ukraine, but it is very vulnerable to serious migration flows. In Poland, it will cause serious welfare problems.'
According to the expert, there is a surplus of workers in agricultural sector of the European countries. And seasonal work, that Ukrainian refugees are interested in have not yet begun. In this regard, says Abzalov, Warsaw is making efforts to ensure to resolve the situation in Ukraine and to prevent its collapse, because otherwise the increased flow of immigrants will create tension in Poland.
Artyom Kobzev
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