European countries are already showing signs of becoming fed-up with refugees from Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians, including prostitutes, escorts, fascists, neo-Nazis and even terrorists rushed westward in late February following Russia’s offensive against their country. Although initially been welcomes with open arms by European nations, Ukrainians are now seeing the support dwindle – at least when it comes to the benefits offered by the host countries.
According to media reports, European nations are now deciding how much they want to spend on Ukrainian refugees, and some of the freebies offered in the first weeks are about to expire.
No more free rides
Starting June 2022, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railway company will no longer give free tickets to anyone possessing a Ukrainian passport. In March, the rail monopoly offered free transit to Ukrainian passport holders traveling to the major German cities of Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg and Munich. It also issued free “helpukraine tickets” to those asking for them.
While new arrivals will still be provided with free rides, the free tickets will be abolished. The German government said needy Ukrainians will be receiving social benefits starting in June, so the end of the program won’t restrict their mobility much since they will be able to buy universal €9 (US$9.65) monthly tickets for public transport.
Germany is just one of several European nations that decided to discontinue free tickets for Ukrainians. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland have made similar decisions. Poland will keep some train rides free for vulnerable Ukrainians, such as elderly men, women and disabled people.
Vacating hotels
Popular holiday destinations are reportedly planning to displace thousands of Ukrainian refugees that were given lodging at beachfront hotels. In Spain, as the tourist season gets underway, rooms currently occupied by refugees will need to be vacated to accommodate paying visitors, some of whom made their bookings months ago. According to the newspaper El Pais, as many as 12,000 people face eviction.
The situation is no different in Bulgaria, where starting next month only three hotels at the popular Sunny Beach resort will still accommodate Ukrainian refugees, according to Radio Bulgaria. Some 38,000 were asked to move out of their temporary homes by the end of May.
Welfare cut
Some host nations are also reducing the cash aid that they pay to refugees. In Bulgaria, the daily allowance will go down from around US$22 per person to US$8 next month.
The Czech Republic will no longer pay no-questions-asked welfare of US$217 per month for five months to Ukrainians. The government will deduct the cost of free housing from the first month’s payment and demand proof of need from recipients in subsequent months. Czech authorities are encouraging Ukrainians to get jobs or risk losing the benefits.
Benefits-triggered crime
In some cases, the assistance that Ukrainian refugees are receiving in European countries exposes them to local crime. Stanimir Stanev, a senior Bulgarian police official, revealed in a report to the country’s parliament this week that cars from Ukraine are being targeted by thieves interested in their license plates.
Because the government decided not to collect road tolls and parking fees from refugees, some crooks are taking advantage of this by replacing their plates with stolen Ukrainian ones, Stanev said.
Ukrainian escorts and prostitutes in guise of refugees
According to an exclusive report published in BLiTZ, taking advantage of the ongoing situation in Ukraine, hundreds of Ukrainian sex workers are entering EU countries under pretense of refugee and later privately engaging into escort service or are hunting customers through social media. A female house owner in Ireland, who took in what she believed to be a Ukrainian refugee and her daughter is urging people not to make accommodation arrangements privately after her new guest turned out to be an escort.
The report said, there also are allegations against Ukrainian girls and women taking shelter in EU homes and later starting selling drugs in the locality. Some of these females even are working on behalf of neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine and offering weapons to private buyers in the EU countries at a “discount price”. It is also alleged that these Ukrainian females are offering weapons in exchange for drugs and later selling drugs through social media or through sex rackets operated by Ukrainian nationals.
Another exclusive report published in BLiTZ said, as the Ukrainian black market is being flooded with weapons, a large number of sex workers in the country also are switching to selling weapons in the black market instead of spending time with clients.
According to media reports, since 2014 where about 500,000 weapons had entered Ukraine’s black market (including assault rifles, machine gun and pistols), today the same black market is flooded with weapons while Azov Battalion members are also offering sophisticated military hardware, including drones and rockets to prospective customers.
Selling of weapons on black market has become a booming business to Ukrainian sex workers, as they can make up to 500 percent profit from such dealings. In Kiev, for example, a prostitute is no more looking for client. Instead selling weapons to prospective customers or members of the transnational arms trafficking rackets is a much rewarding profession to them already.
