Moldova says it has received almost 16,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Interior Minister Ana Revenco said on February 25 that some 15,800 Ukrainian citizens had crossed the border into Moldova in the previous 24 hours.
Many wanted to continue to the EU, but at least 100 applied for asylum in Moldova.
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Meanwhile, the commander of Ukraine's armed forces said a ship under Moldova's flag was hit by a missile fired from a Russian military vessel in the Black Sea as Russian armed forces continue their full-scale attack on Ukraine.
Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote on Facebook that the Millennium Spirit tanker was 19 kilometers from the Ukrainian shore when a missile hit it on February 25.
Moldova's Naval Agency said all members of the tanker's crew were Russian citizens, and the company that operates the tanker is a Ukrainian legal entity. Romanian television said the ship had a crew of 10.
Some media reports in Ukraine said two crew members were wounded. Fire broke out on the ship, but the blaze has been extinguished.
According to Moldovan Naval Agency, rescue operations were carried out by Ukrainian authorities.
The influx of Ukrainian refugees comes as Moldova's parliament approved a state of emergency for 60 days due to the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Among other things, the state of emergency, voted during an emergency meeting on February 24, bans mass demonstrations and allows the government to expel "undesirable persons" from the country.
RFE/RL correspondents report that Moldovan authorities have established triage and assistance centers at two border crosses with Ukraine -- Ocnita and Palanca. According to Moldova's Interior Ministry, the centers will also be prepared to offer accommodation to a number of refugees for 72 hours.
Dozens of vehicles continued to wait in line at the border between Ukraine and Moldova, according to Moldovan media websites. Moldova has a 1,222 kilometer border with Ukraine.
Moldova's western neighbor, EU and NATO member Romania, which has a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine, has also seen an increased number of Ukrainian arrivals at the Sighetu Marmatiei border crossing, but according to local officials there, Ukrainian citizens crossing into Romania are seeking to continue traveling toward Poland and the Czech Republic.
Romania's Interior Ministry said on February 25 that around 10,000 Ukrainians had crossed into the country since the start of the invasion, but only 11 of them applied for refugee status in the country.
SEE ALSO: In Kyiv, Residents Head Underground As Fears Of A Russian Attack On Ukraine’s Capital MountMoldovan President Maia Sandu held a telephone conversation with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on February 25 to discuss coordinating their actions to "ensure the necessary assistance for the Ukrainian refugees," the presidency reported.