Atleast 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine in the week since Russia’s invasion. On the first day of Russia’s invasion (Feb 24), almost 82,000 refugees fled Ukraine and afterwards 117,000 refugees fled each day.
1 million refugees have fled Ukraine: Atleast 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine in the week since Russia’s invasion. United Nations said exodus of refugees at this rate could trigger “the biggest refugee crisis this century.”
As the sound of artillery fires, tanks, bombs and bullets echoed across the Ukraine, people are desperate to leave the country as they are feeling insecure in these conditions. Other countries have been evacuating their residents on a large scale. Special flights are underway to take them away from the Ukraine.
On the first day of Russia’s invasion (Feb 24), almost 82,000 refugees fled Ukraine and afterwards 117,000 refugees fled each day. On tuesday alone 200,000 people fled Ukraine as per UNHCR. If Russia does not stop the war, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine could increase further.
On twitter, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi wrote, “In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries.”
“For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided,” he added.
The outflow of refugees was also large when the civil war was erupted in Syria in 2011. At that time, 5.7 million people had fled Syria according to the UNHCR’s figures. But even at the faster rate of flight in 2013, it took atleast 3 months for 1 million refugees to leave Syria.
The UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said wednesday that the outflows of refugees from Ukraine at this rate could make it the source of ‘the biggest refugee crisis this century”.
The UN official and others have praised the Ukraine’s neighbour countries who have opened their homes, gymnasiums and other facilities to take in the new refugees.
More than half of the refugees have went to Poland since the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while more than 116,000 have reached Hungary. In Moldova, more than 79,000 people went and 71,200 have been taken in by Slovakia.
Also Read:- Russia-Ukraine crisis:- What is SWIFT and how its ban will affect Russian banks