German ambassador to London predicts new wave of Ukrainian refugees

Russian President Vladimir Putin was continuing to terrorize the civilian population in Ukraine, Miguel Berger told broadcaster Sky News. He referred in particular to attacks targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the winter.

"We are very concerned about that, because these attacks on the energy infrastructure mean that many people in freezing temperatures might be forced to leave Ukraine. So, we expect another wave of refugees in the coming weeks," Berger said.

The ambassador said he could see no grounds for optimism on ending the war by diplomatic means.

The German Interior Ministry in Berlin put the number of people leaving Ukraine and entering Germany since the February 24 invasion at a total of 1,033,931 on November 30.

The Ministry's Office for Migration and Refugees recorded around 181,600 applications for asylum related to the invasion during the first 10 months of the year.

The interior minister for the German state of Saxony, Armin Schuster, said the country was reaching its limits.

"We are heading for 200,000 asylum applicants this year. Precisely this number was set as the upper limit in the last legislative period," Schuster told the Sunday edition of newspaper Die Welt.