UKRAINIANS who have fled their homes to escape war have received better treatment than those displaced by other ongoing conflicts and emergencies, the Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission said today.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) called on member states to support all equally in its annual report, saying that “admirable efforts” have been made to support Ukrainian refugees since February 2022.

But it also highlighted that the treatment of people from Ukraine had varied depending on their ethnicity, such as through accommodation conditions offered to Roma with Ukrainian citizenship being of lower quality than others.

Other significant differences include the quality of reception and services provided to Ukrainians compared with refugees from other nations, the ECRI said.

During a press conference, ECRI executive secretary Johan Friestedt said: “The new normal should be to welcome all people from everywhere like Ukrainians were.”

Asked if there was more solidarity towards Ukrainians because most were white, ECRI chairman Bertil Cottier said: “When people are more or less like you, it’s always easier.”

It follows reports that African citizens in Ukraine had been refused the right to cross borders shortly after the war began.

The ECRI said that, regardless of nationality, skin colour or religion, all displaced people should be offered adequate protection and support.

Meanwhile in the war, Russia resumed today its aerial strikes of Ukraine’s power grid and Kiev’s forces again targeted Russian oil facilities with cross-border drone strikes, seeking to curb each other’s ability to fight.

Both sides have switched to take aim at distant infrastructure targets following slow progress on the front lines.

Moscow’s attack hit power structures in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kiev and Vinnytsia regions of Ukraine, causing “extensive damage,” according to national power company Ukrenergo.

Seven workers were injured, it said.