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UKRAINE

German cities warn of growing refugee crisis

In 2022 Germany has seen around a million refugees arrive in the country — mostly from Ukraine. That’s as many as the country saw in 2015 and local authorities are feeling the pressure.

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

“We want to help, but we soon won’t be able to,” is a phrase German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser says she keeps hearing.

The Social Democrat minister is holding a summit Tuesday with leaders from German cities and municipalities who say new refugee arrivals—predominantly from Ukraine—are pushing their current resources to the limit.

Around a million people have fled to Germany from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February. Most are still here, with around 80,000 having left for another country or to return to their homes.

Some researchers are expecting another 250,000 Ukrainian refugees to make their way to Germany next year.

Cities also have their eye on whether Germany will soon see more asylum applications from Iran due to protests there, or what impact Russian men fleeing conscription will have on arrival numbers. Arrivals from Syria alone remain in the tens of thousands.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann of the CSU says over 200,000 people have arrived in his state this year. “That’s already above 2016, when we were in the so-called refugee crisis,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper. “Our municipalities are at their limit on accommodation,” he said.

German cities are currently converting state property into accommodation to provide more space.

Dresden is using its trade exhibition hall to house refugees, while Leipzig is planning to put up tents to handle the shortage while it converts gyms. Some smaller communities have converted halls previously used for weddings.

While Berlin used its old Tempelhof airport to cope with refugee arrivals in 2015, authorities in the capital are now discussing whether to open additional terminals at the closed Tegel airport to house refugees.

Berlin says that out of its nearly 30,000 spots for accommodating refugees, it has less than 200 remaining.

READ ALSO: Germany records almost a million Ukrainian refugees

Speaking to public broadcaster ARD’s morning show, Faeser said the federal government is looking to support cities by opening up its own property, including military barracks.

Although the minister promised cities more money to help deal with their capacity issues, she hasn’t yet said how much—and that a new round of support will be decided in November.

“The question of costs must be clarified now,” said Hesse’s Interior Minister Peter Beuth of the CDU, pointing out that the federal government had already announced cost-sharing in April. “The federal government has a central coordination role here. There’s still no sign of that.”

The federal government’s migration commissioner, Reem Alabali-Radovan, says the number of arrivals from Ukraine is currently declining, but warns that “a hard winter of war can change that.”

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

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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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