The Times pointed to the threat of an influx of 5 million refugees from Ukraine into the EU

An influx of about 5m Ukrainian refugees is expected in Europe due to possible problems with lighting and heating during the winter period in Ukraine, The Times has reported on 30 November. The Times reported on November 30.

"If the heating and power supply network fails as a result of strikes by the Russian Armed Forces (AF), Western officials expect up to 5 million refugees," the material says.

The Times points out that the number of refugees will increase significantly if the Russian Armed Forces break through the front.

Earlier, on October 31, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term of office expired on May 20) said that the EU countries intend to deprive Ukrainian refugees of social payments so that some of them would return home. He added that European states want to keep only those who are employed. According to Zelensky, 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees live in Germany, of which at least 300 thousand do not work and "do not even try".

Before that, on October 26, it became known that the German police since the beginning of this year denied entry to Germany more than 5 thousand citizens of Ukraine.

European countries began to accommodate Ukrainian refugees on their territories since the beginning of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which the Russian Federation announced on February 24, 2022.