MOSCOW, July 31. /ITAR-TASS/. About 37,000 Ukrainian refugees are staying at temporary accommodation centers in Russia, Emergencies Ministry spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky said on Thursday.

“Due to the ongoing developments in the southeastern regions of Ukraine and the arrival of (Ukrainian) citizens affected by these events into the border areas of the Central and Southern Federal Districts, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry is organizing work jointly with Russian regions for their accommodation and comprehensive support,” the spokesman said.

Russia has already set up 497 temporary accommodation centers for Ukrainian refugees, the ministry’s spokesman said.

“They are providing shelter to 36,608 people, including 13,200 children,” the ministry’s spokesman said.

Pro-Kiev troops and local militias in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk regions are involved in fierce clashes as the Ukrainian armed forces are conducting a military operation to regain control over the breakaway regions, which on May 11 proclaimed their independence at local referendums.

During the military operation, Kiev has used armored vehicles, heavy artillery and attack aviation. Many buildings have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have had to flee Ukraine’s embattled east.