The number of people who fled Russia’s attack abroad has risen by nearly 200,000 since Tuesday. More than half of the fugitives have gone to Poland.
The number of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s attack on neighboring countries has already risen to more than 830,000, the UN said on Wednesday afternoon. The day before, the UN said there were 660,000 refugees.
More than half of the refugees have gone to the western neighborhood of Poland.
116,000 have fled to Hungary, 67,000 to Slovakia, 65,000 to Moldova, 43,000 to Russia and 38,000 to Romania, the UN refugee agency says.
However, the figures vary somewhat. For example, the news agency Reuters says that 90,000 people would have fled to Romania in the first five days of the attack.
The EU has promised to welcome all those fleeing Ukraine.
Proposal for an accelerated residence permit from the Commission
According to the prescription, Ukrainians would receive a residence permit as well as a permit to work and study for a preliminary period of two years.
The Commission could at any time ask Member States to extend their authorizations by one year or to terminate them if the situation in Ukraine becomes stable again.
The proposal would also cover foreign nationals and stateless persons residing in Ukraine, such as asylum seekers.
The Commission is also proposing that border controls be facilitated for those coming from Ukraine so that they can enter the EU even if they do not have a valid passport or visa. Already, Ukrainians can enter the EU without a visa for up to three months if they have a passport with a biometric identifier.
EU interior ministers are due to approve the plan on Thursday.
The proposal is based on the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which has never been applied in practice.
Read the latest news on the situation in Ukraine here.