15,000 foreigners, Ukrainians cross to Moldova in hours

Day 2 of Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered humanitarian crisis within hours of the hostilities.

Nearly 15 thousand foreign nationals, mainly Ukrainians, have crossed into Moldova in the last 12 hours amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said on Friday.

“In the last 12 hours, about 15 thousand foreign nationals crossed Moldova’s borders, mainly Ukrainians.

“Customs Service & Border Police staff is working relentlessly to cope with the high influx of cars,” Popescu said on Twitter, adding that “all border crossings with Ukraine & Romania are functional.”

On Thursday, the Moldovan parliament declared a state of emergency for 60 days over the situation in neighboring Ukraine.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested assistance in defending themselves from attacks by the Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation was targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine, while the civilian population was not in danger.

Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.