Ukraine war: UN says 2.6 million have fled since Russian invasion; largest exodus in Europe since WWII
- Saturday’s figure was 92,650 higher than Friday; the largest exodus of refugees in Europe since World War II, according to refugee agency chief
- Poland is hosting over half the Ukrainian refugees, while others entered Hungary, Slovakia and Romania; about 304,000 travelled on to other European countries
The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since the Russian invasion two weeks ago is now nearly 2.6 million, the UN said Saturday.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said there were 2,597,543 refugees who had fled Ukraine so far, in the latest update on Saturday afternoon. The figure was 92,650 higher than the last count on Friday.
This is the largest exodus of refugees in Europe since World War II, according to UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi.
Four million people could leave Ukraine to flee the war, initial UN estimates said, a figure which is likely to be revised upwards, according to the UN refugee agency.
Before the conflict, Ukraine had a population of some 37 million in the regions under its control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east.
Poland is hosting over half the Ukrainian refugees with 1,575,703 crossing into the country since the February 24 invasion, according to the UNHCR. Polish border guards said Saturday that 1,596,000 people had arrived from Ukraine since the war began.
A second wave of refugee arrivals seems to be ebbing slowly. On Friday their number was 76,200 – a 12.5 per cent fall compared to a day earlier.