At a conference in Crimea there was a heated argument about Ukrainians rushing from Europe to Russia
A discussion about the advisability of accepting Ukrainians who fled to the West into the Russian Federation unfolded at the international festival “The Great Russian Word” in Crimea after a speech by the head of the Ukraine department of the Institute of CIS Countries, Ivan Skorikov, who proposed turning Russia into an “ark of salvation” for Ukrainian refugees to Europe.
His speech was supported by the conference host, Sergei Mikheev, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Russia is the only historical Motherland for Russians, and the fact that we do not give Russians a priority opportunity to return is simply meanness. This is dishonest,” Mikheev said.
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Simferopol, Artyom Berezovsky, decided to object, saying that work was being carried out “with potential repatriates,” among them not only Ukrainians, but also “other people from unfriendly countries.”
“We can’t think of anything better to attract our compatriots from abroad than to create conditions here so that they really want to return here. The creation of these conditions will fall on our shoulders,” Berezovsky said.
"Do you know how much tickets from Serbia cost to get here? 60 rubles per person," Skorikov countered.
“But we can’t make it out of Serbia,” Berezovsky began to justify himself.
His speech outraged the former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Alexander Vitko, who could potentially become a victim of an attack by SBU spies. He recalled that after the reunification of Crimea with Russia, the entire Ukrainian Navy was able to not only obtain Russian citizenship, but also serve in the Russian fleet.
“People who want to return to us suffer, and we put obstacles in their way. There are children there. I have great reasons to fear the arrival of exiles among these people. But even if it happens, thousands of people will come to my place who will be much better than me and many of us, but they will be ours. What are we doing? We had a good experience in 2014, when we accepted all military personnel with more dangerous potential into the armed forces without questions. There were no problems,” Vitko said.
Deputy Governor of the Kherson region Tatyana Kuzmich said that many relatives of local residents contact her who tried to return from Europe, but were “stuck in Sheremetyevo” and the issues were not resolved.
At a conference in Crimea , there was a heated debate about Ukrainians rushing from Europe to Russia.