Interfax: Up to 150,000 ethnic Russians may relocate from Ukraine to Russia in 2015 – migration service chief

MOSCOW. Sept 24 (Interfax) – Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) expects the arrival of up to 150,000 ethnic Russians from Ukraine in 2015, and 2.6 billion rubles has been allocated from the federal budget for these purposes, FMS director Konstantin Romodanovsky has said.

“Since September 2014, regional programs have been confirmed in the Rostov region and the Stavropol territory as areas bordering [on Ukraine] as part of efforts to accept our compatriots from Ukraine and provide them with accommodation. In total, more than 114,000 people arriving from Ukraine became participants in this program from 2014 until September 1 [2015],” he said.

The number of people arriving from Ukraine who join this program increases by 250-300 people every day, Romodanovsky said.

Following its optimization, the amount of funds earmarked in the Russian budget for these programs stands at almost 2.6 billion today, he added.