Over six million refugees have fled Ukraine: UN

AFP , Thursday 12 May 2022

More than six million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion began on February 24, figures from the UN refugee agency said on Thursday.

Ukrainian Refugee family in Spain
Members of the Ukrainian Pavlosky family pose at the Expoaccion NGO in Gijon, northern Spain, on April 21, 2022. AFP

 

A total of 6,029,705 people had fled Ukraine as of May 11. Many had gone to neighbouring countries before continuing their journey, according to the agency's dedicated website, with Poland hosting the largest number.

Women and children represent 90 percent of the refugees, with Ukrainian men aged 18-60 unable to leave due to being eligible for military service.

A further eight million people have also been internally displaced, according to a study by the International Organization for Migration.

Daily refugee flows across Ukraine's borders have decreased considerably since the outbreak of war.

In March alone, almost 3.4 million Ukrainians fled their country. That figure dropped to around 1.5 million in April.

Almost 493,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge abroad since the beginning of May.

The United Nations has estimated that more than eight million people could flee Ukraine this year.

Ukraine's pre-war population was 37 million, excluding the annexed Crimea peninsula and two separatist regions in the east controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

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