US to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing war

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON – The United States plans to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s military operation and is pledging $1 billion in new humanitarian aid, the Biden administration said after a month of bombardments touched off Europe’s fastest-moving refugee crisis since the end of World War Two.

The announcement coincided with US President Joe Biden’s meeting with European leaders in Brussels to coordinate the Western response to the crisis.

More than 3.5 million people have fled since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, putting a strain on the neighboring European countries receiving them.

US lawmakers and advocates have urged Biden to do more to help those seeking refuge in the United States, Reuters reported.

In the first two weeks of March, seven Ukrainian refugees were resettled in the United States, internal US State Department data seen by Reuters shows.

Some Ukrainians have traveled to Mexico to seek US asylum at the southwest border.

A senior Biden official said the administration still expected many Ukrainians to choose to remain in Europe close to their home country but added the US commitment to receive more people would relieve some pressure on European nations currently hosting the bulk of refugees fleeing the conflict, which Russia calls a “special military operation.”

“We recognize that some number of Ukrainians who have fled may wish to come to the United States temporarily,” the official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.

The Biden administration said in a statement it would use “the full range of legal pathways” to bring Ukrainians to the United States, including the US refugee resettlement programme, which provides a path to citizenship.

As part of the effort, Ukrainians may enter through existing visa avenues and through a relief programme known as “humanitarian parole,” which allows people into the country on an emergency basis, the senior administration official said. The Biden administration said it will focus on Ukrainians with family members in the United States.