Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called on the international community to give Ukraine's neighboring countries more support in dealing with the war refugees.

This applies in particular to Moldova, said the Greens politician on Saturday during a visit to Moldova's border with Ukraine.

According to a border official, 4,000 to 5,000 people fleeing the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine arrive at the Palanca border crossing every day - mostly women and children.

On some days there were up to 12,000 people.

Moldova is one of the smallest countries on the border with Ukraine and has taken in a large number of people in the past few days, said Baerbock.

"But in the long run they can't bear it alone." The international community must ensure that the people of Moldova get away from the border to safety.

In the first days of the war, many people came in their own cars and were picked up by relatives.

"But the more violent the war becomes, the more people are injured, are fleeing and cannot take anything with them, the more support is needed here."

The federal government is working with international partners to make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the bombing of innocent people must stop immediately, said Baerbock.

It is true that the Kremlin did use the word peace offer.

At the same time, however, hospitals and maternity wards would be bombed.

The minister criticized that the offer was obviously not meant to be taken seriously.

For this reason, international pressure is also being increased “to isolate the Russian regime”.

Baerbock said the Moldovan government is in a very difficult situation.

She did everything to ensure that the energy supply would become independent of Russia in the years to come.

However, since the central power supply runs through the Transnistria region controlled by Russian separatists, Moldova is “completely dependent on the Russian government”.

Because of this infrastructure alone, the country is in a difficult and tense situation.

Kind of an airlift

After meeting her Moldovan counterpart Nicu Popescu in the state capital Chisinau, Baerbock announced that Germany was working with international partners on a kind of airlift for Ukrainian refugees from Moldova.

Such a possibility is "absolutely useful" to relieve the country and to distribute the arrivals to other countries.

At the same time, Baerbock announced that the federal government would bring 2,500 Ukrainian refugees from Moldova directly to Germany as a first step.

She agreed this with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).

Faeser announced on Saturday that he would organize and implement the reception of refugees from Moldova "quickly and unbureaucratically" in the next few days.

Baerbock made it clear that a corridor with buses and trains via Romania is also being set up for the distribution of refugees from Moldova.

People should also be flown out of the country directly or via neighboring countries with larger airport capacities.

This could also happen across the Atlantic - i.e. to the United States or Canada.

"You have to be very pragmatic in this situation and not work out a one hundred percent perfect concept for three months," said the minister.