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The United States will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country in the month since the invasion by Russia. The U.S. will also provide an extra $1 billion in humanitarian aid to those impacted by the war, the White House said Thursday.
“The United States is announcing plans to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia’s aggression through the full range of legal pathways, including the US Refugee Admissions Program,” it said in a statement released as US President Joe Biden attended summits in Brussels focused on the war.
It added that the $1 billion in extra aid “will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance.”
The White House added, “In particular we are working to expand and develop new programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States.”
“This is not something that Poland, or Romania, or Germany should carry on their own,” President Joe Biden later told reporters in Brussels, where he had joined emergency meetings with European, NATO and G7 leaders to coordinate their response to the crisis.
“This is an international responsibility and the United States as the leader – one of the leaders in the international community – has an obligation to be engaged,” said Biden, adding that he hoped to be able to visit with refugees when he travels to Poland later in the week.
“I’m not supposed to say where I’m going. But anyway, I hope I get to see a lot of people,” he said.
While the White House has not announced it, Biden is likely to visit a refugee camp on the Ukrainian border, according to reports from various outlets.
In its statement on Thursday, the White House said among the first Ukrainian refugees coming to the US will be those who already have family in the country. US efforts also will focus on helping refugees who are considered particularly vulnerable following the Russian invasion, including LGBTQ people, those with medical needs, journalists, and dissidents.
The United Nations has estimated that more than 10 million people have been displaced in the month since Russia’s invasion began, straining support systems inside Ukraine and in neighboring European countries.
