EU countries spend more than EUR 43B to support Ukrainian refugees

That's according to Ukraine's Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, which refers to a study conducted by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Ukrinform reports.

"According to estimates from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the governments of European countries have already allocated more than EUR 43 billion to shelter Ukrainians. Such expenses include cash payments, housing, medical assistance, educational services, as well as the provision of food and basic necessities," the ministry said.

According to the study, among the European countries taking in Ukrainian refugees, Poland spent the most - more than 12 EUR billion. In second place is Germany where expenses for Ukrainian asylum seekers reached almost EUR 11 billion.

Significant funds for Ukrainian refugees were also spent by the Czech Republic (EUR 2.94 billion), Spain (EUR 2.24 billion), France (EUR 2.04 billion), Romania (EUR 1.26 billion), Switzerland (EUR 1.16 billion) and Italy (EUR 1.15 billion).

The study notes that ordinary citizens in European countries made a large contribution to helping Ukrainians.