Humanitarian aid
Ukraine war: municipal association calls for refugee summit
People fleeing Ukraine at the Mayaky-Udobne border crossing. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing because of the Russian attack on their homeland. Photo: Sergei Grits/AP/dpa
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Significantly more than 100,000 people who have fled Ukraine could soon arrive in Germany. Municipalities want to be prepared.
In view of the war in Ukraine, the Association of Towns and Municipalities has campaigned for a refugee summit.
“In a first step, it is now the task of the federal and state governments, together with the municipalities, to make the necessary preparations for the reception and care of the refugees,” said managing director Gerd Landsberg of the Handelsblatt. “A refugee summit involving other actors should then follow promptly in a second step.”
“Social Challenge”
According to Landsberg, the cities and municipalities are ready to take in, care for and integrate people within the scope of their possibilities. “In addition to accommodation and food, the necessary measures also include daycare places and the provision of teaching opportunities in schools,” he said.
The costs of this “challenge for society as a whole” would have to be borne permanently by the federal and state governments. It can be assumed that “in the foreseeable future, significantly more than 100,000 people will eventually arrive in Germany,” said Landsberg.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since Thursday. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday, more than 500,000 people have already fled to neighboring countries. So far, most of the refugees have made their way to Poland. According to Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, 300,000 refugees have arrived there so far.