The United Nations announced today that 2.9 million of the more than 6.6 million Ukrainian refugees who fled to neighboring countries went to other European countries.
Refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed into Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24.
Data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provide an idea of how many stayed in the first country they entered and how many stayed elsewhere as the war-induced displacement crisis spread across the continent.
“According to the latest available data, 2.9 million refugees have gone beyond Ukraine’s neighboring countries,” UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told a briefing in Geneva.
A UNHCR chart shows that the highest number of Ukrainian refugees in non-neighboring countries are in Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy.
According to agency data, a total of 6,659,220 Ukrainians have fled the country since the Russian invasion.
Of these, more than 3.5 million went west to Poland. Around 100,000 refugees a day reached the Polish border at the beginning of March, but that number dropped to 20,000 in May.
“Newly arrived refugees often come from areas heavily affected by conflict, and some are hiding in bomb shelters and basements for weeks,” UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado said via videoconference. said.
During the first weeks of the war, volunteers gathered at the borders to help out or to invite newcomers into their homes. Sarrado explained that strong support from the international community will be needed to sustain this generosity and power of intervention.
More than 1.1 million people registered with the Polish authorities and received a state identification number that allows them to access public services. 94% of the registered total are women and children.
Prior to the invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in government-controlled areas, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and areas in the east controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
source: Noticias
