Refugee

People demonstrate in front of the Russian embassy in Sofia on 24 February in support of Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

Over 56,000 refugees from Ukraine are currently being hosted in Bulgaria and are now being moved to different state-owned bases.

The resettlement of refugees from Ukraine in the buffer camps in Sarafovo and Elhovo begins today. Every refugee who wants to be accommodated in a state resort will go through one of the two buffer camps to assess his needs and decide which base to go to.

Greek forces have forcibly pushed 94 Syrian refugees, 30 of whom were children trapped in an islet in the Meriç River that forms the Turkish-Greek border, for four days using violence.

Second attempt to relocate Ukrainian refugees from resorts and hotels on the Black Sea coast inland. 74 people got on the train in Varna, while on Sunday there were only 5 Ukrainians at the station.

Although most of the Ukrainian refugees accommodated in hotels in Varna and the region asked to leave and asked the state to provide them with shelter, they did not want to leave their hotels. This reluctance of the refugees to comply with the request of the state and the effort to provide them with shelter surprised the chairwoman of the State Agency for Refugees Mariana Tosheva.

Nearly 7,000 Ukrainian refugees will be relocated from resorts near Varna inland from May 28th to 31st by rail.

The survey of refugees and the organization of logistics with the specific places where they will be accommodated are currently underway. This was said by Blagomir Kotsev, regional governor of Varna region during a briefing.

"297,000 Ukrainian citizens have entered Bulgaria, about 100,000 people are still on Bulgarian territory," Mariana Tosheva, chairwoman of the State Agency for Refugees, told BNT.

According to her, this is a completely normal ratio compared to other European countries. The last ten days have seen a trend of entry and exit in Ukraine.

The total number of asylum seekers in Turkey is 4,082,693, and of them, 3,762,686 comprise Syrians under temporary protection, Deputy Interior Minister İsmail Çataklı has said.

"About 122,000 of this number have been passive registrations for two years. In other words, there is no sign that they are in Turkey," daily Hürriyet quoted Çataklı as saying on May 8.

59,085 Ukrainian citizens are currently staying in Bulgaria. By May 31, refugees staying in hotels that will receive tourists must be transferred. A measure is being developed through which people who have found a job will be able to apply for rent assistance.

Nearly 85% of Bulgarians expect a rise in prices in the coming months, the majority of voters do not see the need for early elections, and do not share the view that refugees from Ukraine are a threat to security, and nearly 60 percent support the change of mandatory to recommended wearing of masks.