20.06 Russia Plans to Set Up Air Bridge to Help Ukrainian Refugees in Crimea

MOSCOW, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry is ready to set up an air bridge to help Ukrainian refugees in Crimea get to Russia’s mainland territory, the ministry head Vladimir Puchkov said Friday.

“If there is a need to organize an air bridge, we are ready,” Puchkov told a government commission session.

Since the beginning of June, the flow of refugees escaping Ukraine after the escalation of the crisis in the country’s southeast has been on the rise. Some 10,000 Ukrainian refugees arrive in southern Russia’s Rostov Region every day.

Over 200 temporary accommodation facilities have been established in southern and central Russia that currently host 9,700 people, including 5,300 children. Some 12,000 people have come to stay with their relatives and friends.