Nearly 5,000 Ukrainian Refugees Have Fled to Greece Since Start of War

Nearly 5,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to Greece since Russia invaded the country in late February.

According to figures released by the Greek government, 4,649 refugees fleeing war in Ukraine have arrived in Greece as of Monday.

Additionally, 869 Ukrainian refugees came to Greece in the last 24-hour period alone, with 285 children amongst them.

Out of the nearly 5,000 total refugees who have come to Greece to escape the war, 1,431 are minors.

A large number of the refugees are naturally women and children, since men aged 18 to 60 are not permitted to leave Ukraine.

UN: One million people have fled Ukraine

Last week, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said more than one million people have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded the country..

Filippo Grandi said in a post on Twitter on Thursday:

“In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries. For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided.”

Most refugees are heading to Poland and Moldova, but they are also going to Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

Greece provides protection status to Ukrainian refugees

Greece will provide one-year protection status along with rights to work and medical care to Ukrainian refugees entering Greece, the Migration & Asylum Ministry announced last Wednesday.

This will be issued to Ukrainian nationals within 90 days of their entering Greece, as the usual 90-day visa entry requirement for nationals of non-EU countries does not apply in their case currently, it was added.

Ukrainians who do not have any travel documents and are entering Greece via the Promachonas border station in northern Greece can be provided with a document that will allow them to receive protection status, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece.

Ukrainians entering Greece at this point will be able to stay briefly at a nearby hosting facility before applying for longer-term housing via this email address: ukraine@migration.gov.gr.

A helpline has been set up by the migration ministry at 30-213-1629600, which offers guidance in Ukrainian, English and Greek, from Monday to Friday from 7:00 in the morning through 10:00 at night. More information is available here.

Greeks in Odessa, Ukraine successfully evacuated

A total of 34 Greeks, including sailors from a Greek ship, were successfully evacuated from the Ukrainian city of Moldova on Monday. All 34 people safely crossed the border into the neighboring country of Moldova.

A similar evacuation took place just last week, when a Greek convoy of approximately 30 vehicles evacuating dozens of Greek expatriates, diplomats and journalists from Mariupol, the Greek-founded city in southeastern Ukraine, made it to the Moldovan border.