War in Ukraine: The bar of 5 million refugees crossed
The UN has announced that the bar of 5 million refugees linked to the Russian offensive in Ukraine was crossed this week.
According to new UN figures on the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War, 5,085,360 Ukrainians have left their country since the start of the Russian offensive on February 24th.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, “5 million people have now fled Ukraine. They left behind their homes and their families.”
“Many would do anything, and some even risk returning, to see their loved ones,” he added, noting however that “each new attack shatters their hopes” of returning.
UNHCR said on March 30 that 4 million people had fled Ukraine. The exodus has been a little slower in recent weeks than at the start of the war.
Among these 5 million refugees, more than 218,000 are nationals of other countries, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
More than 2.8 million refugees in Poland and nearly 550,000 in Russia
Poland alone hosts more than half of all refugees who have fled since the start of the Russian invasion. In total, just over 2,825,463 refugees are present in this country, according to the UNHCR count as of April 19.
Although many remained there, an unknown number of them continued their journey. According to humanitarian organizations, there are few border controls within the European Union.
Besides Poland, Romania remains a destination for Ukrainian civilians. Since February 24, 757,047 people have entered Romania. Hungary hosts 471,080 people, according to UNHCR figures as of April 19.
Moreover, since February 24, nearly 426,964 people have entered Moldova through Ukraine. As for Slovakia, it counts 342,813 people who have fled Ukraine, according to the updated UNHCR update on 19 April.
Russia remains the third destination for Ukrainian refugees after Poland and Romania.
The number of people who have found refuge in Russia amounts to nearly 549,805 as of April 19, 2022. In neighboring Belarus, more than 23,759 Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed in this country.
Ukraine, second refugee crisis in the world after Syria
In addition to refugees, more than 7.1 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine. In total, more than 12 million people, more than a quarter of the Ukrainian population, have been forced to flee their homes since February 24.
Before the war, Ukraine had 44 million inhabitants. “Only the end of the war can pave the way for the reconstruction of their lives” in their country, noted UNHCR Chief Filippo Grandi.
More broadly, the Ukrainian war is among the largest refugee populations in the world. With more than 5 million exiles, the Ukrainian conflict is just behind the civil war in Syria which has generated more than 6.8 million refugees. Next come Venezuela (4.1 million), Afghanistan (2.6 million) and South Sudan (2.3 million), according to the UN refugee agency.
In addition, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed on Wednesday that it had recorded 2,104 civilians killed, including 170 children, and 2,862 injured, since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, but said warned that the actual numbers “are considerably” higher.
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