By Kyle Herda
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
KIEV, Ukraine – As the unrest in Eastern Ukraine continues on, those living in the east are facing severe problems that compile more by the day. In particular, economic woes are plaguing Eastern Ukraine, as well as a constant military threat and plenty of destruction to civilian areas. Many from the east have been displaced in the past year and more continue to look elsewhere to escape the instability, but nearby countries are beginning to close up their borders to Ukrainian refugees.
Over 1 million people have been displaced since fighting began over a year ago in Eastern Ukraine, and applications for refugee status have typically been denied in countries around Ukraine. Only 70 people sought asylum in Lithuania, but only 31 were granted that status. Further, Lithuania states that it is suspending asylum applications from Ukraine due to the increase (Lithuania typically only receives around 5 asylum applications per year). A U.N. refugee agency claims that non-EU countries like Moldova and Belarus received 300,000 applications for asylum, while even further EU countries also received numerous applications. For example, France received 1,415 asylum applications last year, and only accepted 35. Russia also saw roughly 300,000 refugees seeking asylum who fled east after the conflict sparked up.
While fighting in Eastern Ukraine appears to have died down some momentarily, both sides appear to be taking the down time to fortify and dig in. This may actually be an opportunity for both sides to bulk up, as is furthered by a new report claiming that both pro-Russian rebels as well as Kiev and the United States believe a major offensive by Russia is due to occur within the next two months. 60,000 Russian troops are along the border with Ukraine, and Mariupol may be the target of an impending attack. While over 6,000 have been killed in fighting over the past year, only about 100 have died since the February 12th ceasefire deal in Minsk was agreed to.
Given that the situation in Eastern Ukraine is already bad, compounded by the impending reawakening of heavy fighting, many civilians are fleeing before things heat up again. Times are already tough as is, and the future looks dark for now. Other countries, however, are unsure of what will come of all this fighting and unrest, and so they are even more hesitant to take action, much to the dismay of those seeking asylum.
For more information, please see:
Newsweek – Pro-Russian Rebels Told: Major Attack on Ukraine Imminent – 8 April 2015
IBT – Lithuania Suspends Asylum Applications for Ukrainians Fleeing War – 8 April 2015
The Local – Norway sees Ukrainian asylum seeker boom – 31 March 2015
The Local – France rejects hundreds of Ukrainian asylum bids – 26 March 2015
The Local – Sweden sees Ukrainian asylum seeker boom – 26 March 2015
Gulf Times – Ukrainian refugees facing dwindling options in Poland – 26 March 2015
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty – Russia Says Almost 300,000 Ukrainians Asked For Asylum – 16 February 2015
