Finland to host Ukrainians and Russians in separate refugee reception centers
Refugees from Ukraine (Photo:www.radiosvoboda.org)
The Finnish Immigration Service has said that from now on it will work to place Ukrainian refugees in separate reception centers from Russian men fleeing the Kremlin’s mobilization, Finnish newspaper Yle has reported.
“The situation is peculiar due to the war,” said Pekka Nuutinen, Director of the Reception Unit at the Finnish Immigration Service.
“We’re facing a new situation in reception center operations. We felt that it was necessary to change our traditional accommodation policy.”
The arrival of Russian asylum seekers to Finland has caused concerns among Ukrainians living in the Nordic country. Particularly, the Ukrainian Association in Finland had stated that placing men who escaped from the aggressor state next to Ukrainian women and children would significantly threaten the mental and physical well-being of the latter.
Currently, there are roughly 35,000 Ukrainians and 1,000 Russians at reception points in Finland. About 14,000 Ukrainians and about 550 Russians live in distribution reception centers, from where they are to be allocated housing.
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