About three thousand Ukrainian citizens have entered Moldova, and the number of people seeking asylum is increasing with every hour.

In a press conference held after the meeting of the Commission for Emergencies, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said that there are Ukrainians who transit Moldova to reach Romania or other EU countries, or Ukrainians who do not need official protection because they have relatives in Moldova that can accomodate them. But there are also people who request the protection of the Moldovan state in accordance with its international commitments.

The Prime Minister says that for the biggest challenges now are related to migratory flows, and other risks are manageable or insignificant.

Moldova can take in several thousand refugees. If there is need for more, solutions will be sought to increase capacities and discussions will be held with Moldova’s foreign partners to direct refugee flows to other countries. There are certain places ready to house refugees. “It all depends on how things develop in Ukraine and what the flow of migrants will be,” she added.

Natalia Gavrilița urged people to keep calm and avoid panic, including panic buying. She noted that the banking system is operating as usual, the National Bank has enough reserves, and there is plenty of food and consumer goods in stock.