Minister of the Interior Kristian Jaani noted that by now, the number of refugees arriving from Latvia has significantly decreased and migration routes have changed – most of the refugees arrive in Estonia from Russia, as military operations in Ukraine take place mainly in the eastern part of the country. According to the minister, in recent days, almost 300 refugees have arrived in Estonia from Russia every day, while less than 100 have arrived from Latvia. Almost half of these refugees use Estonia as a transit country.
Jaani said that the border control fulfilled its purpose and Estonia received a useful overview of the people who entered the country during the big wave of the arrival of Ukrainian war refugees and enabled us to effectively guide them to the necessary services. “The abolition of border control will not prevent people leaving Ukraine due to the war from being assisted at the border and directed to services in the future. Police patrols will continue to carry out random checks at the vicinity of the border, and if these checks identify vehicles and people arriving from Ukraine, they will be able to advise them, if necessary. I thank everyone who contributed during the border control and I praise the people of Estonia who accepted temporary inconveniences for a good cause,” said Jaani.
As at today, there are 39,802 Ukrainian war refugees in Estonia. In total, we have received 64,148 refugees at the border, of whom 24,346 people used Estonia as a transit country, moving on to other countries.
On Friday, 13 May, the Police and Border Guard Board stopped implementing the mass immigration emergency plan and the Social Insurance Board took over the management of assisting war refugees.
Compared to the emergency plan, the biggest change is related to the reception points, instead of which the 24-hour information points of the Social Insurance Board have started operating at the Tallinn bus station, the previous reception points in Tartu and Pärnu, and in Narva. The information point provides primary necessary information about staying in Estonia and moving on from here, and the staff of the information point can help, if necessary, to provide short-term accommodation for those war refugees who need immediate assistance, including those moving on from Estonia.