About 25,000 Ukrainian refugees have reached Spain so far, says minister

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian refugees queue to get one of the 100 daily appointments at the documentation office to apply for temporary protection approved by the European Union that allows residence and a work permit, in Torrevieja, Spain March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Eva Manez/File Photo

MADRID (Reuters) - About 25,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Spain since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, though only 9,000 of them have registered so far with the authorities, Spanish Migration Minister Jose Luis Escriva said on Monday.

The United Nations refugee agency estimates nearly 3.5 million Ukrainians have now fled their country, with more than two million of them moving to neighbouring Poland. Romania, Hungary and Slovakia also host large numbers of refugees.