Most of those who fled the country are women and children. In addition, there are more than seven million internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
15.4. 16:56 • Updated April 15th. 17:46
More than five million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, according to recent UN figures.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (switch to another service) says nearly 4.8 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the attack began. In addition, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) says almost 215,000 third-country nationals have fled to Ukraine’s neighboring countries.
The majority, more than 2.7 million people who left Ukraine have fled to Poland. People have also fled west to Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. UNHCR estimates that a large proportion of those who fled to the EU’s neighboring countries have continued to travel to other EU countries.
In addition, less than half a million people have traveled from Ukraine to Russia and twenty thousand to Belarus, according to the UNHCR.
According to the news agency AFP, this is the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. 645,000 Ukrainians fled abroad in February, 3.4 million in March and more than 760,000 in April.
More evacuation corridors in eastern Ukraine
About 90 percent of the people who fled Ukraine are women and children. In principle, men between the ages of 18 and 60 will not be allowed to leave the country.
Ukrainians who have fled abroad have left a significant gap in the country’s population, although some of them have already returned to Ukraine. Before the Russian invasion, 37 million people lived in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government.
About two out of three Ukrainian children are estimated to have had to leave their homes during the war. According to the IOM, there are already more than seven million internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
Civilians have been evacuated from cities besieged or under attack by Russia along so-called humanitarian corridors agreed between Ukraine and Russia.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshukuk writes today on Friday on its Telegram channel that to this day, nine evacuation corridors have been agreed in eastern Ukraine, including the cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk to Zaporizhia with their own vehicle.