Sweden prepares tents, sports halls when Ukraine’s refugees arrive
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STOCKHOLM, March 9 (Reuters) – Sweden is preparing tents, sports halls, warehouses and exhibition halls to accommodate a growing number of Ukrainian refugees, said Minister of Immigration Anders Ygeman on Wednesday.
About 2,000 refugees arrived in Sweden alone on Tuesday, says Ygeman, which roughly doubles the number who have come so far to escape the fighting.
The Swedish Migration Agency is preparing to receive about 30,000 refugees from Ukraine in total in the coming months with about 12,000 beds in need “immediately” or “soon”. The total number of Ukrainians who come to Sweden may be higher because the majority of those who arrive so far live with relatives.
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“It’s not just tents we will use, there will be warehouses, exhibition halls, sports halls,” Ygeman told reporters.
“The Swedish Migration Agency does everything they can to ensure that those who come also have a roof over their heads.”
He said that Sweden had not received any requests to receive redistributions of refugees who had arrived in countries such as Poland, and added that it was unlikely that Sweden would do so.
“I find it difficult to see that Sweden would be in a situation where we can take reactions from other countries,” he said.
“We have a fairly strong flow to Sweden – it is very likely that we will take our fair share of the refugees through those who go to Sweden themselves.”
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Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Johan Ahlander
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