About 200 Ukrainians received in The Hague, possibly expanded to 500

The Hague will receive about 200 refugees from Ukraine in the short term, which could be expanded to 500 places or beyond, according to the municipality. The first Ukrainian refugees have already arrived and are staying in a hotel.

More hotel rooms will be available for the refugees from Monday and they can also contact Stichting Noodopvang (Emergency Shelter Foundation), the municipality said. 

The government has instructed each security region to receive 1,000 Ukrainians in the short term and another thousand in the longer term. The Hague lies within the Haaglanden region, along with Delft and Zoetermeer, among others. It is not yet known where refugees will be placed in the rest of the region.

The first shelters for Ukrainian refugees have also been found elsewhere in the Netherlands. Twenty rooms in a hotel in Winschoten are available for a total of 40 refugees. Ukrainians are also accommodated in an office building in Sliedrecht. The first group, about 25 people, will arrive there on Sunday. 

The Zeeland municipality of Noord-Beveland will receive about 25 people in a former school building in Wissekerke. A camping farm with a “straw hotel” in Oldehove in Groningen is also being prepared to accommodate displaced persons. 

"This does not mean that the first people are already coming, but that we are ready to receive them,” said the Westerkwartier municipality. 

Rotterdam previously reported it would receive 1,000 Ukrainians in the short term. They will come in two river cruise ships. In Amsterdam, 235 Ukrainians are accommodated in two hotels.

The Ukrainians do not have to apply for asylum and therefore do not go to an asylum seekers center. They can work in the Netherlands right away and their children can go to school.