Over 150,000 Ukrainians granted asylum in Russia - Federal Migration Service deputy chief
GENEVA. Oct 1 (Interfax) - Over 150,000 citizens of Ukraine have been granted asylum on Russian territory, Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) deputy chief Nikolai Smorodin said at a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday.
"As many as 158,000 Ukrainian citizens have been granted temporary asylum in the Russian Federation," he said.
About 200,000 Ukrainians have applied to territorial offices of the FMS for asylum or refugee status, Smorodin said.
"As you see from these figures, the Russian Federation grants asylum on its territory proceeding exclusively from principles of humanity, without politicizing the situation," he said.
According to the FMS, about 880,000 Ukrainians have entered Russian territory and are staying there since April 1. Nearly 100,000 Ukrainians have applied for temporary residence permits in Russia.
"According to our forecasts, if the current situation in Ukraine remains the same by the end of the year, up to 400,000 people coming from Ukraine could apply for asylum," he said.
Despite the truce that the conflicting parties in Ukraine concluded on September 6, from 2,000 to 2,500 Ukrainian citizens keep crossing Russian border daily in search of asylum, Smorodin said.
In addition, as winter is drawing near, the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic have told Russia that they have no conditions for the refugees to return, he said.
