More than 62,000 refugees enter Hungary from Ukraine

More than 62,000 people entered Hungary from Ukraine between Thursday and midnight on Saturday, the police headquarters of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County said on the police website on Sunday.

The police data show 19,978 entered Hungary across the Hungarian-Ukrainian border on Thursday, 19,618 on Friday and 23,140 on Saturday.

The number of people who crossed the border from Hungary into Ukraine was also higher than usual, reaching 5,452 on Thursday, 5,744 on Friday and 7,810 on Saturday, the data show.

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The county HQ said the police are working at full capacity at all five border crossings between Hungary and Ukraine, ensuring entry to arrivals from Ukraine.

Nobody seeking refuge in Hungary is being turned away at the border, the police added.

Arrivals from Ukraine who aren’t being assisted by family or friends, or who have nowhere to go for material reasons, are being accompanied to shelters where they are getting accommodations and food, police.hu said.

Hungary’s National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing has registered ten applications, so far, for refugee status since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the authority told MTI early Sunday.

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Most of the people entering Hungary from Ukraine have been ethnic Hungarians with Hungarian citizenship or met the conditions for legal residency in Hungary, the authority said.

The authority added that applications for refugee status may be submitted in person at any collection centre 24 hours a day, or at offices of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing during opening hours.

Applicants for refugee status are ensured accommodations and food, the authority said.

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Source: MTI