Deputy PM: Government shuts down relocation plan for Ukrainian refugees, until it is clear how many people really need shelter

The Bulgarian government is shutting down the integration programme for resettlement of Ukrainian refugees in the interior of the country, Deputy Prime Minister Kalina Konstantinova announced in a video address on May 30.

Those Ukrainian refugees who had been accommodated in the hotels on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, would, if they have nowhere to go after May 31, be temporarily accommodated in the buffer centres in Sarafovo, on the Black Sea coast and in the town of Elhovo, Southeastern Bulgaria.

In the first two days of the relocation programme, May 29 and 30, the turnout for relocation of refugees from the Black Sea coast to the state-owned accommodation facilities was low. With over 200 people expected, only five boarded the first train from Varna yesterday, and later just over 50 others left for the interior of the country. The situation was similar in Bourgas today. At the last minute, most people refused to be transferred because of the uncertainty of where they would be taken.

Relocation of Ukrainian Refugees from seaside hotels to state-owned accommodation facilities continues today

Deputy PM Konstantinova said that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, close to 300,000 Ukrainians had arrived in Bulgaria. More than 110,000 had received temporary protection and shelter.

“For three months we have been providing daily, completely unforeseen care for more than 110 000 people,Yes, there probably were people who received social benefits late. Yes, there are probably some for whom it took time to arrange medical treatment. Yes, there must have been those who coud not enroll their children in kindergarten. But doesn’t this happen to Bulgarians every day? I stand before you today, Bulgarians and Ukrainians, with the full confidence that the national headquarters team, all the district administrations and local centres, have done more than the impossible to ensure that those fleeing war have a warm home and security. We have done everything possible so that we do not have to set up tent camps, as is the case in other countries," she said.

Konstantinova said that the authorities had made it clear that Bulgaria could no longer afford to support Ukrainian citizens in hotels on the seafront after May 31 and expected this to be understood. Instead, we have received a number of personal demands from some of the refugees that cannot be met.

"It had been announced from the outset that the measure with the hotels was temporary and aimed at providing time for the refugees to get back on their feet. To our great disappointment, in return we received many personal wishes, which definitely can not be satisfied. And we are not talking about vulnerable people – they are the ones who have the fewest demands. For all other people with temporary protection, I announce: having not received reliable and timely information from you, having not communicated your intentions to the mediators and the field teams until the last moment - we are shutting down the integration plan for the resettlement of refugees in the interior of the country. All Ukrainian refugees who are in hotels by the sea and at this stage claim that they have nowhere to go will be temporarily accommodated in the buffer centres in Sarafovo and Elhovo," Kalina Konstantinova said.

Until it is clear exactly how many people really need shelter, the authorities have no choice but to accommodate everyone in the buffer zones, Konstantinova said. She adedd that the conditions in the state facilities meet all the minimum requirements, similar to the centres in Poland, the Czech Republic, Moldova and other countries.

“Our empathy continues to be ever so great and boundless, but our ability to offer more than tents and vans has been inexplicably sabotaged. Protection is a right, not an obligation. Therefore, not a single empty bus or an empty train carriage will be allowed to leave again.The development of the situation from this moment on is in the hands of the Ukrainian community in Bulgaria," Konstantinova said.

She urged those refugees who do not need shelter to declare that now.

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