BERLIN (AFP) – A fire broke out at a building housing Ukrainian refugees in eastern Germany, police said yesterday, adding that they were investigating the case as arson.
The inhabitants of the thatched-roof building in Gross Stroemkendorf village were able to evacuate unhurt, police said.
The fire broke out at around 9pm on Wednesday, setting off an alarm.
German media reported that passers-by also alerted the manager of the site as he went to check on the fire alarm.
It remained unclear how the fire started, but local media reported that police had already visited the accommodation before because of a swastika graffiti painted on its entrance sign.
Germany has taken in around a million refugees from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
Unlike during the migrant crisis in 2015, when several cases of refugee shelters were firebombed by extremists, there have been few criminal incidents affecting Ukrainians seeking protection.
Leader of the opposition CDU Friedrich Merz was forced to apologise after he accused Ukrainian refugees of “welfare tourism”.
