More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine due to the Russian invasion

The number of refugees fleeing from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, on February 24, it already amounts to more than 1.2 million, according to data published this Friday by the United Nations, which places just over half of these people in Poland.

Specifically, some 650,000 people have arrived in Polish territory, while Hungary, the second country with the most refugees, is close to 145,000. moldova accumulates 103,000, while Slovakia and Romania have 90,000 and 57,000 refugees, respectively.

• Kamala Harris will travel to Poland and Romania for the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Accuses Russian Soldiers of Rape
• Blinken: “Our responsibility is that the war does not come out of Ukraine”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also includes in its balance another 96,000 people evacuated to Russia from the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, before the conflict ended last week.

A woman carries a dog after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania. (REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov). (STOYAN NENOV/)

People try to board a train to flee from Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine. (EFE/EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE). (ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE/)

The UN estimates that the exodus will continue in the coming days — only Poland reports about 100,000 arrivals per day– and works with a scenario in which there are about four million refugees.

Given the magnitude of the emergency, the interior ministers of the European Union on Thursday automatically granted displaced Ukrainian nationals temporary protection that allows them to travel freely within the bloc, settle in any of its member states, seek employment and have access to medical care.

The UNHCR director for Europe, Pascale Moreau, has celebrated this fact “without precedents”although it has also urged to extend the rights to people from third countries with legal residence in Ukraine and to stateless people.

The agency is already speakingEurope’s biggest refugee crisis this century. “Many states in the European Union have shown great support and yesterday’s decision reinforces this solidarity, which we hope will continue.”, Moreau has said.

Ukrainians travel by train to Lviv, Ukraine from Przemysl, Poland as many Ukrainians, including women, decided to return to their country to fight and support their family from the Russian invasion, Poland. (EFE/EPA/MIGUEL A. LOPES). (MIGUEL A. LOPES/)

_____________________________

• Ukraine compares bombing of Kiev to that of Nazi Germany in 1941
• Ukraine reports the death of 2,800 Russian soldiers on the second day of the invasion
• Why did Russia invade Ukraine and what are Putin’s arguments for war?
• A shocking audio reveals how Russian soldiers threaten and then kill 13 Ukrainian soldiers on an island
• These are the countries that support Russia and those that are with Ukraine
• NATO activates its defense troops for the first time in history to deter Russia

Source: Elcomercio