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Red Cross to provide treatment to Ukrainian refugees in Russia

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. European Commission Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and the Italian Red Cross will bankroll around 350,000 euros for medical and social support for Ukrainians who fled to Russia from fighting in southeastern Ukraine, Head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Representation in Russia, Belarus and Moldova, Davron Mukhamadiyev, said on Friday.

As he put it, around 600-700 people from Ukraine staying in Russia have not settled their legal status. "They cannot count for full medical service, especially in treating chronic illnesses, as well as tuberculosis and HIV infections," Mukhamadiyev added. As he put it, the Russian Red Cross mapped out the regions where Ukrainian citizens mostly lived - these are the Rostov, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Volgograd and Krasnodar Regions. It is in these regions that the Russian Red Cross will start delivering help to these people.

"We estimate the needs at around 1.5 mln euros. We have received one third of this sum, so we can treat some of the patients," he said.

Medical service will be provided in Russia’s public health facilities. "The Red Cross will provide help so that this category of citizens came for examination, because they are sometimes afraid and think they will be ejected or won’t be treated. Our task is to improve awareness that they have access to treatment, and that we will compensate this treatment," Mukhamadiyev explained.

"It was initially planned to treat 25 TBC or HIV patients, as 10 to 12 new cases are registered among these categories of citizens each year. So, in all, there will be around 100 patients," he said.

Besides, around 200 patients with various chronic problems and disabled people will receive help from the Red Cross, Mukhamadiyev said. "We plan to enable them to receive private medical insurance and acquire medical insurance policies for them so that they could turn for medical help at a place of stay," he said.

Legal consulting

Director of the Russian Red Cross International Department, Sergey Kobets, said that the Russian Red Cross would set up public reception offices that would provide consultations on legal and social issues for Ukrainian citizens in the Belgorod, Voronezh, Volgograd and Lipetsk Regions.

"Thus, our public reception offices will focus on work with Ukrainian citizens and will also provide legal and social consultation for all other categories, such as migrant laborers from Central Asia, refugees from the Middle East and all those who will address these public reception offices," he said. Reception of a legal status by migrants is one of the most acute issues, Kobets underscored. Refugees address authorities asking whether they can obtain the protected status.