The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) announced on Tuesday that Ukrainian temporary protection applicants and Russian asylum seekers will no longer be housed at the same reception centres.
Migri said the policy went into immediate effect, with new Russian arrivals currently being placed at separate facilities. Meanwhile, clients from those countries already living at the same reception centres will be separated this month.
Migri said that Russians and Ukrainians have been housed together until now, and that everyday life at the facilities has gone smoothly.
The question of separating the residents was raised when the Kremlin announced plans for a partial military mobilisation effort, and Ukrainians began to express concerns about the policy, according to Migri.
On Saturday, the Ukraine Association in Finland said that the placement of men who have fled Russia in close proximity to Ukrainian women and children posed a significant threat to their mental and physical well-being.
Shortly after that, Migri announced that it would begin placing Ukrainian temporary protection applicants and Russian asylum seekers in different facilities, noting that the transition was a change to its traditional accommodation policy.
There are currently about 35,000 Ukrainians and about 1,000 Russians registered in reception centres, while about 14,000 Ukrainians and about 550 Russians currently live in the centres. Most of the others are in private accommodation.
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