Russia unleashed a war in Ukraine. Now she’s spending billions to help refugees.
BBC Russian Service studied orders and government contracts to find out how officials spent money on the removal of Ukrainians during the several months of the war. Journalists also bought who made money on it. For example, the contracts of the Rostov Ministry of Transport amount to hundreds of millions of rubles. “Cold” retells some interesting points from the text.
How many Ukrainians flee to Russia and why
According to the UN, more than 1.9 million Ukrainians left for the first war. Anonymous sources from power structures say that there were more than three million who left. Not all of these people have refugee status, because few are expected to receive it. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the end of June, a total of 55.2 captured Ukrainians received temporary asylum in Russia.
Ukrainians are forced to flee to Russia: there are no other options for leaving the occupied cities.
How Ukrainians are brought to Russia and how much it costs
The most popular route for people fleeing eastern Ukraine is through the self-proclaimed DPR and on to the Rostov region. People are taken out by evacuation buses, the record goes in two to three weeks. The organizers of the transportation are the self-proclaimed DPR and Russia.
The money is allocated from the budget of the regions. For five months of the war, the Ministry of Transport of Rostov contracts for more than 300 million rubles. According to the document, an hour of transportation costs about five thousand rubles.
In addition, private carriers work on vehicles fleeing the war. For example, the Rostov company Avtokolonna 1599 transported Ukrainians from the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR to the Russian border.
However, after the Ukrainians enter the Land of Russia, they are taken further east or north. For this, free trains are allocated. The Ministry of Transport has calculated that there could be more than 234,000 passengers on such flights by the end of 2022. Based on this, the Ministry of Transport requested “preliminarily” 700 million rubles of subsidies.
Where Ukrainians who fled the war live
With the beginning of the restoration of positive adaptation, 54 out of 85 regions of Russia. 3.1 billion rubles are distributed among all extreme regions – this is money from the reserve fund. Funds should be used for accommodation and meals for people in temporary premises (TAPs).
Of the distributed revenues, the most went to the Rostov region – more than 416 million. About 80% of this money has already been spent.
One of the main TAPs in the south of Russia is located in Taganrog – in the Sports Palace of the Olympic Reserve School No. 13. The contract included the accommodation of 600 people in two school buildings. At the end of July, the authorities extended it, despite the fact that the school no longer had enough space for the actual classes.
More than 95,000 people have been exiled to TAPs at the expense of the budgetary funds of the legislative power of Russia. The Rostov and Voronezh regions, as well as the Krasnodar Territory, will take over most of the migrants.
The annexed Crimea also received more than 25 million rubles from the budget for TAPs. According to state contracts, 6.3 million rubles have already been spent. Despite the fact that the natural power of Russia did not increase the nutrient medium in the Crimea at all.
How much does one migrant cost
In most TAPs, the daily budget for a refugee’s accommodation is 1,328 rubles per day, of which 913 rubles for accommodation, another 415 for food. Such an amount in terms of paid in the past, before that, the expenses were smaller (800 rubles per day).
Some proposals are corrected. For example, in the Khabarovsk Territory, the amount for food is 287 rubles more, and the total expenses for a refugee in the Volgograd Region are returned 1,500 rubles from the second day of the war. All this money comes from the reserve executive authorities.
Where exactly to send the media
Money is spent without contests. As a rule, income growth volumes grow on the PVR for catering owners or are either concluded with state contracts alone, as with existing suppliers. The owners can also be private individuals.
The second way, with the conclusion of contracts, is available only in 34 regions. In five months, contracts were signed for more than 2.9 billion rubles, of which more than 1.8 billion were spent. One third of all contracts falls on the Rostov region.
However, not all contracts are executed for the amounts prescribed in them. Perhaps this is due to expectations: in some regions, fewer Ukrainians arrived than expected.
What else is the money spent on?
For example, for medical care, increases, as well as for the payment of increased payments, which are promised to every migrant from Ukraine who issues a Sberbank card. The same Rostov region received five billion rubles for the payment of lifting – and the first tranche was sent on February 19th.