Zelensky thanks European Commission for supporting Ukrainians seeking asylum in EU

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked the European Commission for allocating the first tranche of EUR 500 million to help Ukrainians seeking refuge in the European Union.

The head of state wrote about this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

"Grateful to [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen for an important decision to give immediately residency rights in the EU to Ukrainians flowing to Europe because of Russian aggression. The first tranche of EUR 500 million provided by EU would help Ukrainians to ensure decent living conditions," Zelensky wrote.

Von der Leyen earlier announced the allocation of the first tranche of EUR 500 million to help refugees from Ukraine. She also announced the decision to grant them the right to reside in the EU for at least one year.

As reported, on February 24, Russian President Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched a large-scale invasion of the country. Russian troops are killing civilians, shelling and destroying key infrastructure, with missiles hitting Ukrainians' homes.

Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization.

Ukraine officially filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.