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Date Published: 21/02/2023

ARCHIVED - A year on, Spain has taken in the sixth most Ukrainian refugees of any country

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The majority of displaced Ukrainians in Spain have been given refuge in the Valencia Region

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - A year on, Spain has taken in the sixth most Ukrainian refugees of any country

This week marks 12 months since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest and most destructive armed conflict in Europe since World War II, killing thousands and forcing millions from their homes and country.

During the early hours of February 24 2022, Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin describing the offensive as "a special military operation” to “demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine”.

And the war has raged unrelentingly since, with more than eight million Ukrainians still unable to return to their home country, having sought refuge in other European countries, including Spain.

In fact, Spain has taken in the sixth most Ukrainian refugees worldwide with the highest concentration in the Valencia Region, in particular Torrevieja, which is now home to more Ukraine and Russian citizens than UK expats for the first time ever.

A year on from the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Spain has granted temporary protection to almost 170,000 refugees (more than 45,000 in the Valencian Region) and 13,695 have found employment.

The arrival of thousands of Ukrainians has certainly put Spain's reception and asylum structure to the test. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has set up four Reception, Attention and Referral Centres (CREADE) in Madrid, Alicante, Barcelona and Malaga, through which 91,889 refugees have passed (as of January 31).

Of these, 12,898 have applied for emergency shelter and 43,736 families have been assisted, according to Inclusion data, which shows that the main profile of those helped in assistance centres is female, 31 years-old and with higher education, predominantly economists, computer scientists and engineers.

On a wider scale, the unprecedented exodus caused by Russia's invasion led for the first time to the activation of the European directive on temporary protection, drafted 20 years ago after the Balkan conflict, which guarantees displaced persons a residence and work permit and access to health, education and economic aid.

As of 16 February 2023, 166,832 Ukrainian citizens and residents (63% women and 37% men) had obtained this status in Spain, according to the latest data from the Ministry of the Interior.

Ahead of Spain are Russia (2.9 million), Poland (1.6 million), Germany (1.05 million), Czechia (490,000) and Italy (169,837).

The highest number of temporary protection has been granted in the Valencia Region (45,159), Catalonia (38,482), Andalusia (23,922) and Madrid (23,587).

They are followed by Murcia (5,328), the Canary Islands (4,359), the Basque Country (4,144), Castile and Leon (3,960), Aragon (3,613), the Balearic Islands (3,178), Castile-La Mancha (2,925), Galicia (2,848), Navarre (1,635), Asturias (1,584) and Cantabria (1,500).

Below 1,000 are Extremadura (743), La Rioja (595), Melilla (19) and Ceuta (15).

Prior to the war, the registered Ukrainian population in Spain was 110,977 (57.6% women and 47.3% men) and 96,687 had a residence permit.

At the end of 2022, the number of registered Ukrainians in Spain had reached 193,292 (61.5% women and 38.5% men), and 157,180 had residence documents and, in the case of adults, work permits, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Of the 109,388 Ukrainians of working age authorised to work under temporary protection, 13,695 (13%) were registered with the Social Security on December 31 2022. Of these, 2,013 work in the hotel and catering industry, 1,170 in construction and 1,064 in programming, consultancy and other computer-related activities.

Sadly, 37,000 schoolchildren have been forced from their homes and been given refuge in Spain, with 74% of them enrolled in schools in the Valencia Region, Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia.

A quarter of displaced Ukrainians have fled from the Kiev region, 9% from Odessa, 8.5% from Kharkiv and 7% from Lviv.

Image 1: Fundación la Caixa
Image 2: Archive
Image 3: Unicef

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