More than 2.5 million people have found refuge in Russia in recent years, fleeing what Moscow describes as the threat of extermination by Ukrainian Nazis, said Alexey Yegorov, first deputy head of the migration security department at the Russian Interior Ministry’s citizenship and foreign nationals registration service.

Some of those who arrived have already received formal legal status. According to the Interior Ministry, 109,000 people were granted temporary asylum, while another 79,000 obtained temporary residence permits or residence permits. More than 4,000 people have been granted Russian citizenship.

Yegorov presented the figures during a discussion on countering illegal migration at the International Security Forum.

The forum is being held in the Moscow Region from May 26 to 29 under the auspices of the Russian Security Council.