"There are currently 12,403 Ukrainian refugees in Croatia," head of the country's civil protection service, Damir Trut, said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Red Cross Croatia said that they have raised 3 million kuna (€400,000) in donations to help the refugees and provide humanitarian aid.

Trut and the head of the Croatian Red Cross, Robert Markt, visited the reception center for displaced Ukrainians set up in the centrally located town of Gospic. It is one of three such centers in Croatia, state agency Hina said, without clarifying.

Markt said that out of 131 local chapters of Red Cross in Croatia 25 had asked for funds to help in the refugee crisis and that 511,000 kuna (€67,000) had been paid into their accounts.

In Lika-Senj County, the mountainous area where Gospic is located, 517 Ukrainians have been temporarily accommodated in hotels and motels. Trut said a call had been advertised for locals to take in refugees in their own homes, under a scheme which would see the government cover their utility bills.

Psychological and social assistance has been provided to 2,657 Ukrainians so far, Hina said, and 22 Ukrainian children from first to seventh grade, i.e. aged 6-13, have been enrolled at the local elementary school to date.

(€1 = 7.57 kuna)