More Ukrainians Are Arriving in Estonia Than Leaving
According to ERR report, at the Narva border checkpoint, about 3,400-4,000 people cross per day, the checkpoint’s manager Marek Liiva has confirmed, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The majority of them are Russians, while the refugees from Ukraine account for a small proportion of the total.
Liiva said that, on average, one or two Ukrainian refugees are reaching the country daily, adding that sometimes it’s possible to say there are more, up to ten in a day. According to him, if larger families with two to five members are entering, the figures can be higher.
Besides, Liiva stressed that not all Ukrainians reaching Estonia are seeking international protection.
“Ukrainian citizens whose day-to-day lives are linked with the Russian Federation are also crossing the border daily. They travel on a Ukrainian passport and are coming to Estonia and the EU for tourist purposes,” Liiva noted.
At the same time, Liis Paloots, from the Social Insurance Board (SKA), referenced a University of Tartu/Praxis survey, which noted that more than 60 per cent of Ukrainians living in Estonia who had fled the war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine expressed a desire to return home within the next three years. The same noted that 25 per cent said they wanted to remain in this Baltic State.
The figure for returnees has not matched the statements mentioned in the survey, according to Paloots, while she stressed that this applied to the EU as well as more broadly.
“At present, more Ukrainians are coming into the EU than leaving it. What we for sure have to take into account is that one-third of those war refugees who have arrived in Estonia come from war zones in Ukraine where there is still active military action taking place, or from adjacent areas,” Paloots emphasised.
Estonian authorities are continuously attempting to help refugees from Ukraine following the full-scale invasion of Russia.
Last month, the Government Communications Office in Estonia announced that the amount of a total of €25.4 million was allocated in order to cover the expenses of Ukrainian refugees who left their country due to the war.
In addition, the government confirmed that, of the total, €4,500,000 had been allocated to the Ministry of Culture for A1level Estonian language teaching for refugees from Ukraine.