More than 13,000 Ukrainian refugee children enrolled in Spanish schools

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a wave of solidarity in Spain towards the thousands of people fleeing the war.

The Spanish Minister for the Presidency, Parliamentary Relations and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños, chaired this week the tenth meeting of the National Security Situation Committee, which follows the development of the war caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

According to government information, the Committee discussed last Monday the progress of the working group on the reception and temporary protection of persons from Ukraine and data on the reception operation.

Until that date, 48,979 displaced persons from Ukraine have been assisted and almost 52,000 applications for temporary protection have been granted, all of them requested by Ukrainian citizens following the start of the war. Of the total number of persons protected, 39.4% are minors.

More than 13,000 children have already been enrolled in Spanish schools, almost twice as many as a week before, the Spanish government said in a press release.

On Wednesday 6 April, a new centre for the reception, care and referral of Ukrainian displaced persons came into operation in Malaga, in addition to those already operating in Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante.

New sanctions assessment

In the last meeting of the National Security Situation Committee, the effect of the economic sanctions on Russia was also assessed, following the approval by the European Union (EU) of a fifth package of measures that came into force last week.

This package includes, among other decisions, a ban on the import of Russian coal, a total ban on the movement of Russian and Belarusian road hauliers operating in the EU, and a ban on Russian-flagged vessels entering the EU ports.