After an incident of alleged arson at a hotel housing Ukrainian refugees in Germany, Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian ombudsman, expressed his concern for the safety situation in countries where Ukrainian refugees are staying at the moment.

"I am expressing my concern about the further security situation in the countries where Ukrainian refugees are currently staying – especially now that male Russian citizens are leaving the Russian Federation en masse due to the mobilisation campaign announced by Putin. They often rudely express their discontent and threaten Ukrainian women and children abroad with physical violence", Lubinets explained.

He stated that Ukraine considers it unacceptable that citizens who were fleeing armed aggression in their home country become victims in places of temporary refuge.

"I call on the German authorities to conduct a full, impartial and prompt investigation of these facts, to resettle 14 Ukrainian refugees to a safer place and design systematic solutions to ensure the safety of Ukrainian citizens", he added.

 "As the ombudsman of Ukraine, I appeal to the European Union countries with a call to refrain from granting asylum to men of military age who are evading mobilisation in the Russian Federation until safe living conditions are created in EU countries for Ukrainian citizens, mostly women, children and the elderly who suffered from Russian aggression, while it is impossible for them to return home due to constant Russian attacks on the Ukrainian cities and critical civil infrastructure", the report said.

The said fire almost completely destroyed accommodation for Ukrainian refugees in the German town of Gross Strömkendorf in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern federal state.

According to the police reports, the fire, which broke out on 19 October at night, was likely arson. Earlier, on 19 October, the police visited the residential building when a swastika was found to have been drawn on the entrance sign.