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By Kirsten Grieshaber

The Associated Press

BERLIN 鈥� The German capital is expanding a temporary refugee shelter at a former airport to accommodate 3,600 Ukrainians as it struggles to put up more civilians fleeing聽Russian attacks聽on vital infrastructure ahead of the upcoming winter months.

After opening two terminals at the former Tegel Airport for Ukrainian refugees in the spring, Berlin鈥檚 state government is now racing to outfit two big tents on the tarmac with heaters for the winter. It has also opened a third terminal for registration of new arrivals and set up 900 additional beds, officials said Wednesday.

鈥淲ith Russian President Putin targeting the country鈥檚 heat and water infrastructure and the temperatures going down below zero soon, the numbers of refugees can skyrocket at any time,鈥� said Katja Kipping, the Berlin state government鈥檚 senator for social issues, as she toured newly opened registration facilities at terminal C.

鈥淲e must be prepared,鈥� Kipping said, adding that most regular refugee and asylum shelters in Berlin and elsewhere in the country were already overcrowded, and finding new space for more people looking for protection in Germany needed to become a top priority.

Germany has taken in 1 million refugees from Ukraine since Russia attacked the eastern European country almost nine months ago. In addition, more asylum seekers than in previous years are coming here from countries such as Syria, Moldova or Afghanistan. Elsewhere in Europe,聽the numbers of people applying for international protection聽have also reached highs not seen since well over 1 million people sought refuge on the continent seven years ago.

Last week, the head of the German association of cities warned that many cities around the country are no longer able to provide decent housing for refugees.

鈥淲e will have to start relying on emergency solutions, because the regular housing that would actually be provided for this purpose is not available in quantity and quality,鈥� Straubing Mayor Markus Pannermayr said on Bayern 2 radio.

The federal government tried to allay local communities鈥� concerns last week, saying it is willing to provide 4.25 billion euros ($4.26 billion) for this year and 2023 to help take care of refugees and migrants. But even with new federal funds, new housing units cannot be built as quickly as people keep arriving, city officials say.

At Tegel Airport, some 1,500 Ukrainian refugees 鈥� most of them mothers with their children 鈥� have currently found temporary homes as the German capital鈥檚 regular refugee homes with almost 28,000 beds are full. On Wednesday, some new arrivals were sitting at tables in the vast former arrival hall, slurping down hot vegetable soup, while others crouched close together on old metal seats near walls to charge their phones at electrical outlets.

A family of five with a baby in a stroller and the father in a wheelchair was lining up in the old boarding pass and security control area to get registered, while several elderly women huddled up in big coats were standing in front of the former airline gates to go through police checks and have their fingerprints and biometric pictures taken.

Berlin has welcomed more than 100,000 Ukrainians so far, and while many have found private lodging with relatives or Germans who have opened their homes to them, some 3,000 currently rely on the city for accommodation.

Ukrainians can enter Germany without visas, but migrants from other countries looking for refuge in Germany need to apply for asylum to get into shelters.

From January through the end of September, 134,908 people applied for asylum in Germany, with about 10,700 of them now living in Berlin.

In October alone, 3,454 people applied for asylum in the German capital. That was a 30 percent increase from September, city officials said.

To make sure all of them 鈥� as well as those expected to follow 鈥� have a roof over their heads in the winter, Berlin wants to create 10,000 extra accommodation spaces until the end of this year.

鈥淲e have a Herculean task to tackle here,鈥� Kipping said.