RIGA, May 13 (LETA) - A total of 28,696 Ukrainian civilians that have fled war in their country have been registered in Latvia so far, according to the Interior Ministry's latest data.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, residence documents with the right to employment have been issued to 22,663 Ukrainian refugees, while 10,572 persons have needed the civil protection commissions' assistance in finding accommodation. This means that the rest find accommodation on their own or are staying with relatives or friends, Interior Minister Marija Golubeva (Development/For) said earlier.

Ukrainian residents that have biometric passports and do not need social or housing assistance can stay in Latvia for up to 90 days without registration.

The government recently approved a plan to support refugees arriving in Latvia from Ukraine, the implementation of which is projected to cost EUR 116.277 million. The plan was drawn up to ensure support for up to 40,000 Ukrainian refugees.

As reported, if 30,000 Ukrainian war refugees arrive in Latvia, seven state cities should admit in total of 14,876 refugees, and more than half of them should be admitted by Riga, according to the regulations prepared by the Interior Ministry and adopted by the government on April 12.

In line with the new regulations, refugees will be distributed among Latvia's municipalities in proportion to the size of each municipality's population.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on December 24, several million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their country.