Italy will do its utmost to welcome the "ever-growing numbers" of refugees fleeing war zones in Ukraine, interior minister Luciana Lamorgese told her Ukrainian counterpart Denys Monastyrskiy on Wednesday.
During a lengthy phone call, Lamorgese conveyed to Monastyrskiy "the entire Italian government's solidarity over the suffering that the Ukrainian people are enduring due to the war," said an interior ministry statement.
Lamorgese "assured the maximum commitment on the part of Italy's authorities to welcoming and assisting the ever-growing numbers of refugees fleeing from conflict-hit areas (of Ukraine), who are reaching our country by every means of transport," the statement added.
Over 3,400 Ukrainian refugees, mainly women and children, have arrived in Italy since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, interior ministry sources said earlier on Wednesday.
