Russia flies Ukrainian refugees

The Russian Emergency Control Ministry (EMERCOM) has reported that on 21 June, it airlifted 52 refugees to Voronezh, southwest Russia, from Simferopol in the Republic of Crimea. The Crimean peninsula seceded from Ukraine in March to become part of the Russian Federation. The refugees were residents of southeast Ukraine who had chosen to leave the country, said EMERCOM. Most of the passengers of the humanitarian flight were women, children, elderly and ‘physically challenged’ people, said the Ministry. They were accompanied on the Ilyushin Il-76 plane by psychologists and an EMERCOM task force.

The plane’s outbound flight to Simferopol was used to transport humanitarian aid and equipment, including temporary shelters, furniture, medicines and foodstuffs, with a total weight of some 40 tons (80,000 pounds). It followed an earlier flight made by another EMERCOM Il-76, which delivered 37 tons (74,000 pounds) of supplies to Simferopol airport on 20 June.