The number of people leaving Ukraine due to the Russian invasion and arriving in the country has increased greatly
Authorities in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia are threatening to stop taking in Ukrainian refugees as their numbers rise dramatically, arguing that other states are not fulfilling their own obligations to welcome them.
The situation in Germany’s most populous state, which includes the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, has worsened over the past 24 hours, an official from the state’s refugee ministry said in a letter to the federal interior ministry.
This is mainly due to the fact that other states refuse to accept refugees from Ukraine, even though they are below their quotas, so North Rhine-Westphalia accepts them, he added.
The number of people leaving Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion and arriving in the state has greatly increased, Lorenz Barr pointed out in the text he sent to Hans-Georg Engelke, the head of the federal interior ministry.
Of course, North Rhine-Westphalia remains “committed to fulfilling its humanitarian responsibility to welcome all people in need of protection, especially those who have fled Ukraine,” Mr Barr stressed.
But the federal government also needs to do its part, making sure flows are smoother and distribution is fairer, he added.
Apart from North Rhine-Westphalia, only Baden-Württemberg and Saarland currently accept the transfer of refugees from other states to their own territory. In practice, according to Mr. Barr’s letter, this means that only three of the sixteen states are currently handling the reception of the vast majority of refugees from Ukraine.
“If this trend remains unchanged, we estimate that North Rhine-Westphalia (…) will no longer be able to receive” refugees, he warned. “This will result in the national allocation of refugees being suspended.”
Mr. Barr also appealed for solidarity from other states, stressing that even if they have reached the limits of their capacity to receive refugees, they must fulfill their obligation to host Ukrainian citizens who are fleeing their country. , where the war that broke out on February 24 is raging.
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