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UKRAINE

Germany records almost a million Ukrainian refugees

Germany has registered almost a million refugees from Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbour in February, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Refugees from Ukraine in Frankfurt
Refugees enter a help centre for Ukrainians in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Rumpenhorst

A total of 967,546 people fleeing the war have entered Germany at least temporarily, 36 percent of them children, the ministry said in a statement.

Around 97 percent are Ukrainian nationals.

Among the adults, three in four are women and around eight percent are over the age of 64.

“Many in our society have gone above and beyond to help refugees,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, calling the influx “the largest movement of refugees (in Europe) since World War II”.

READ ALSO: ‘Happy to work here’: How refugees in Germany are easing labour shortage

There were almost 155,000 Ukrainian pupils enrolled at German schools by the end of last week, according to the conference of state education ministers in Berlin.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR says more than 6.6 million Ukrainians have been registered as refugees across Europe since the Russian invasion.

Countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have opened their borders, homes and wallets to help those fleeing the war.

According to the German ministry, citing the UNHCR, some 3.8 million Ukrainian refugees have returned to their home country at some point since the start of the war.

Of those registered in Germany, “a significant number” may have travelled on to other EU states or returned to Ukraine, it added.

Most Ukrainian refugees want to return home as soon as possible, according to a UN survey published in July, but do not expect to do so until the war is over.

READ ALSO: ‘It feels like a dream’: The Ukrainian refugees arriving in Berlin from war zone

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UKRAINE

German economy minister makes unexpected visit to Ukraine

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck unexpectedly arrived in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss post-war reconstruction and show support after Russian attacks on key Ukrainian infrastructure.

German economy minister makes unexpected visit to Ukraine

“This visit comes at a time when Ukraine needs all the support it can get in its fight for freedom,” Habeck told reporters in the Ukrainian capital.

“And it is a fight for freedom, that’s the important thing that the world, Europe and Germany mustn’t forget,” he said, adding that Ukraine was “fighting for the values that define Europe”.

The trip comes after Germany at the weekend announced it was sending an additional Patriot air defence system to Ukraine after pleas from Kyiv for its Western backer to urgently help foil Russian attacks.

Ukraine has said it is running out of weaponry to shoot down Russian missiles and drones as Moscow ramps up attacks on energy infrastructure.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday urged fellow EU leaders to urgently follow Berlin’s lead and send more air defence systems to Ukraine.

Habeck, who was accompanied by a business delegation on the trip, will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He will also meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss emergency aid and business ties as well as preparations for the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Berlin in June, the German economy ministry said in a statement.

“Comprehensive support for Ukraine also includes support for a resilient energy supply and reconstruction. Private sector investment is crucial for this to succeed,” Habeck was quoted as saying in the statement.

The World Bank has estimated the total cost of reconstruction facing Ukraine more than two years since the start of the war is at least $486 billion.

OPINION: Germany’s timid strategy risks both Ukraine’s defeat and more war in Europe

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