Moldovan president promises to take all refugees from Ukraine

CHISINAU. Feb 25 (Interfax) - The Moldovan authorities are ready for an increased number of refugees from Ukraine, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said.

"Moldova is ready to take everyone who needs help, even if the flow of refugees from Ukraine increases in the coming days. Many of them have come to stay at their relatives' and friends'. But state institutions are ready to help citizens of Ukraine who have no one in Moldova. They will be provided with food, essentials, transportation and accommodation," Sandu told a briefing on Friday.

More than 16,000 citizens of Ukraine arrived in Moldova in the past 24 hours, she said.

"Many of our citizens are ready to accommodate refugees in their residences, people are ready to get involved as volunteers. Mayors' offices, recreation homes, and hotels are offering free accommodation services. Companies are offering their services for free or at discounted prices to citizens of Ukraine. Ukraine is our friend; our relatives live there. The tragedy that hundreds of thousands of families are going through there also brings pain to us," the president said.

"We are closely following the development of events, including the situation in the northern and southern regions of the country. At such times we think about people, our citizens and Ukrainians, who suffer the most," Sandu said.

On Thursday, the Moldovan parliament declared a state of emergency in the country due to the situation in Ukraine for 60 days starting from February 24. Eighty-eight deputies from all parliamentary factions voted for that decision unanimously.

According to the most recent data from the Moldovan Interior Ministry, more than 5,000 refugees from Ukraine entered Moldova on Thursday. There are huge lines at all checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, the longest of them being at the Mayaky-Palanka checkpoint, at the entrance into Moldova from Odesa. Its length exceeds 20 km.