The Czech Republic has issued over 500,000 temporary protection visas to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Recently, about 2,100 visas have been issued per week, compared to over 2,400 a week in February and early March. Temporary protection visas allow refugees access to public health insurance, education and the labour market. It is estimated that around 300,000 refugees are currently staying in the Czech Republic, but the exact number is unknown. The deadline for refugees to extend their visas is the end of March, after which a more precise number of refugees staying in the country may be known. Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said that evidence from other migration crises showed that if the conflict lasted more than a year, some 40 to 45% of refugees usually stayed in the country to which they escaped, and this group of refugees was mostly women with children. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that over 8 million Ukrainian refugees had been registered in Europe since the start of the invasion, and 5.4 million Ukrainians had been displaced within the country. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the war had claimed the lives of at least 8,000 civilians, although the real total is likely to be much higher.

Article by Prague Forum