Russia fired more than 80 missiles at Ukraine earlier this week. The capital Kiev also came under fire again. 20 people died, more than five times as many were injured.
After the bombing, Vladimir Putin (70) announced that of the 29 targets, seven were not damaged “as planned by the Ministry of Defense”. They want to “make it up,” said the Russian president.
That is why the shelling continued yesterday. A power station supplying energy to Kiev and the surrounding area was badly damaged by a rocket impact. The result was a massive power outage.
The Kremlin Boss’s Calculation
In Switzerland, Moscow’s strategy is closely followed. “The intense rocket fire from the beginning of the week has mainly focused on energy infrastructure. You are trying to contribute to possible bottlenecks in the supply of electricity, water and mobile communication,” a spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) explains to SonntagsBlick.
The Kremlin boss’ calculations: With his bombs and the approaching winter, he could again trigger a large influx of refugees and thus increase the pressure on the West.
“In the most likely case,” the SEM expects 80,000 to 85,000 people to seek protection from Ukraine by the end of the year. That would be 3,000 to 5,000 new requests per month. At present, about 65,000 people have fled to Switzerland from the war zone.
Not just Ukrainian refugees
Bern’s migration officials are aware of what could happen if Putin’s plan works: “Should there be drastic supply problems in Ukraine at the beginning of winter, especially with heating and electricity, a significant increase to 120,000 applications is possible. “
That would roughly double the current number of Ukrainians in this country.
In general, the pressure in the asylum system continues to increase. The SEM expects 19,000 people (excluding Ukrainians) to register in Switzerland this year. In comparison, during the pandemic year 2021, there were a total of nearly 15,000. The Migration Authority: “The largest increases are registered in applications from Afghan and Turkish citizens.”
And how is Switzerland preparing for a possible new influx of refugees?
Nathalie Barthoulot (54), chairman of the Conference of Cantonal Social Directors (SODK) and member of the Jura government of the SP, said at SonntagsBlick’s request that it had been determined “that we could accommodate more than 80,000 people without major problems”. Cantons and municipalities worked without interruption to create new places.
“There is a lack of psychologists or social workers”
The authorities used youth hostels, containers or civil defense facilities. Until now, according to Barthoulot, there was hardly any need to resort to underground housing. There are currently more than 7,700 free places throughout Switzerland. However, if there is actually a major winter rush, other solutions will have to be found. “Then barracks or other government buildings should be used.”
Currently, for many cantons, the problem is not so much the number of free places as the lack of skilled workers: “There are no psychologists or social workers to look after the refugees.” In the beginning, the cantons assumed that the refugees would only stay temporarily. Today you see “that people probably won’t return so soon”. The cantons are therefore increasingly focusing on their integration, for example with language courses or integration courses for children.
The country’s top social director throws a wreath at the citizens. “In the beginning, we couldn’t have functioned without the host families,” she says. Hiring someone isn’t always easy. But new hosts would still contact the cantons. Barthoulot: “Our country is currently achieving an achievement that we have not seen since the Second World War.”