MOSCOW, July 16. /ITAR-TASS/. Over 40 regions across Russia provided shelter for Ukrainian refugees, who were forced to flee their country amid the ongoing military conflict in the south-east of the country, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said on Wednesday.

“Over 40 (Russian) regions accommodated a great number of people and provided them with temporary shelter,” Puchkov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Most Ukrainian refugees flee to Russia’s southern Rostov Region and the Republic of Crimea bordering on Ukraine. According to Puchkov, the Emergencies Ministry’s (EMERCOM) aviation helps them to travel further to other parts of Russia.

The minister said EMERCOM uses Ilyushin Il-76 airplanes and helicopters for transporting refugees, and today, part of them are scheduled for flights to the Vladimir Region, in central Russia, and the Republic of Bashkortostan on the Volga River.

EMERCOM spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky said earlier in the day that some 25,000 Ukrainian refugees, including almost 9,600 children, were currently staying at Russia’s temporary asylums.

He also said that over 12,000 people were already transported by the Emergencies Ministry’s aviation, as well as by on-ground transportation, from Crimea and Rostov Region to other parts of Russia.

Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) chief Konstantin Romodanovsky said on Monday that a total of over 30,000 Ukrainians had already applied to the service for refugee status or temporary refuge.