More than a million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
“In just seven days, we witnessed the outflow of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries,” Grandi wrote. twitter March 2.
“For millions more, it’s time for guns to silence in Ukraine, and we can provide life-saving humanitarian aid.”
Since Russia’s invasion, refugees have fled west from the Ukrainian war zone at a rate of more than 100,000 per day. About half arrived in Poland. Most of the rest goes to Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.
The Polish government offers Ukrainian asylum seekers several intercity subway trains, transfer services, basic medical care, and free travel in shelters.
Moscow claims that its troops have not fired at civilian targets, but videos posted on social media show rocket attacks on destroyed residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
Before the Russian invasion, about 44 million people lived in Ukraine.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the war in Ukraine is becoming “one of the biggest humanitarian emergencies in Europe in the coming years.”
The majority of Ukrainians fleeing are women and children, as men between the ages of 18 and 60 are restricted from leaving the country until further notice.
In response to the growing crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week provided Ukraine with $ 20 million in emergency funding.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimated that as of Sunday, 102 Ukrainian civilians, including seven children, had been killed. Ukrainian officials estimated that 352 people died, including 14 children. Russia claims that its troops are not targeting civilian areas.
Military casualties figures vary widely depending on the source. Russia announced casualties on Wednesday for the first time since the invasion that Moscow called a “special military operation.” A defense ministry spokesman said that 498 Russian soldiers had been killed since the conflict began. On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 9,000 Russian soldiers had been killed.
Autumn Spredemann and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Ivan has been reporting on various topics in The Epoch Times since 2011.