Ukrainian refugees enter Estonia, via Russia
Estonian officials say Ukrainian refugees arriving from Russia include some who moved out of besieged Mariupol into Russian territory.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of “deporting” thousands of civilians from Mariupol, a port city devastated by Russian shelling. Russia denies forcing people to leave but says it is looking after thousands of people from there.
Indrek Puvi, the police chief of Narva, on Estonia’s border with Russia, said some 200 Ukrainian war refugees had entered EU member Estonia daily in the past week. Besides people from Mariupol, there were refugees from Kherson, Kharkiv, and other cities.
He told public broadcaster ERR that some had entered Russia voluntarily because they had been unable to flee to western Ukraine. “However, there have also been people who were forcibly directed to Russia and allowed to leave on their own after arriving there,” he said.
The BBC has been unable to verify the numbers evacuated to Russia.
Russia is battling to take Mariupol in order to link up Crimea with Donbas. Its forces seized both territories in 2014.
