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Ukrainian refugees at Berlin Central Station
Photo: Annette Riedl/dpa
The number of people who have fled Ukraine to Germany since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression has increased significantly. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to the CDU interior expert Alexander Throm. According to this, around 1.65 million Ukrainians were registered with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) as of March 12th. A year ago there were 1.4 million.
Unlike those in the Central Register of Foreigners, these data do not take into account possible re-exits. Bamf boss Hans-Eckhard Sommer recently said in the Bundestag's Interior Committee that the number of new arrivals from Ukraine currently exceeds the number of new asylum applications from other countries. "We have to assume that most of the Ukrainians who are coming now will have to be accommodated by the state," warned Sommer.
The Union is now demanding consequences: "The federal government must urgently work for a more even distribution of the newly arriving Ukrainian war refugees in Europe, Germany is reaching its limits," said CDU politician Throm.
Among people from other countries seeking protection in Germany, the number of asylum seekers from Venezuela has particularly increased: in 2023, the Bamf recorded 3,729 initial applications from people from the socialist-ruled state - more than twice as many as in the previous year.
Most of them come to Saxony, the country is mainly responsible for accepting Venezuelan asylum seekers. Their protection rate was 20 percent. The left-wing faction in the Dresden state parliament is now calling for a stop to deportations: around 800 people are threatened with deportation to Venezuela. Its President Nicolás Maduro is accused of alleged crimes against humanity.
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