To date, over 8,300 Ukrainians fleeing the war have found refugee in Croatia, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Sunday.

Croatia has very well responded to the developments so far. However, watching what is going on, we can see that we will have to be braced for various consequences even for the ordinary citizens, and unfortunately, the worst stage of the war is about to happen, he said after a meeting of the interdepartmental task force for providing protection for refugees from Ukraine.

This is an unprecedented humanitarian issue in Europe. Thousands, tens of thousands of people are leaving Ukraine. We can expect an influx of refugees in all EU member-states, including Croatia, Božinović noted.

On Sunday, the number of Ukrainians seeking shelter in Croatia exceeded 8,300.

The numbers are rising, and we also insist on transparency in efforts to provide them with help, the minister said, pointing out to a comprehensive approach to this issue.

We have published a public call for 10,000 accommodation units throughout Croatia, and all steps we take will be transparent, he said.

Croatia wants to provide the best care and sympathy to those people who have experienced the calamities. The help includes not only accommodation and food but also access to education and the labour market as well as to social welfare services, the minister said recalling that the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive.

Broken down by gender and age, about 40% of the refugees are women and 40% are children, he said adding that all of them will be eligible to receive one-off aid of HRK 2,500 (roughly € 333).