About 2.5 million Ukrainians are staying on the territory of Russia, of whom 1 million are residents of Ukraine’s southeastern regions, Head of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Department for Migration Olga Kirillova told TASS on Jan. 4.
"Currently, about 2.5 million Ukrainian citizens are staying in Russia, of whom over 1 million are those who come from the southeastern regions of Ukraine. Over 2 million Ukrainian citizens have applied for defining their legal status since early 2014, including over 442,000 people who have requested temporary shelter and 411,000 persons who have applied for a permit for temporary living. Also, Ukrainian citizens have been issued over 670,000 work patents and 175,000 work permits," she said.
More than 230,000 Ukrainian citizens have requested their inclusion in Russia’s state program for voluntarily resettling compatriots to Russia and 175,000 people have expressed their desire to acquire Russian citizenship, she added.
Overall, 15 million foreign citizens have arrived in Russia since early 2016 and over 10 million foreigners are currently staying on Russia’s territory, Kirillova said.
"The number of foreign citizens staying on the territory of Russia has not changed radically in the past few years and some variation can only be noted depending on the season and some external factors," she said.