(Geneva) The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine for neighboring countries jumped again to reach almost 836,000 people on 1er March, according to a census by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees published Wednesday on its website.
Posted at 6:30 a.m.
This is a jump of almost 160,000 people from the figure of 677,000 put forward on Tuesday by the High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, during an emergency appeal for funding for humanitarian aid for the country and the people who fled the fighting.
The UNHCR counted precisely 835,928 people, of whom 453,982 had found refuge in Poland alone.
Since the beginning of hostilities and the flow of refugees that followed, Poland has been the main host country.
Hungary comes next with 116,348 refugees, or 14% of the total.
Slovakia, for its part, hosted 67,000 refugees, or 8%, as of 1er March and Russia 5.1% (42,900 people).
Figures for other major countries had yet to be updated as of 6 a.m.
The authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify further, as the Russian army seems to be concentrating its efforts on major Ukrainian cities.
According to the UN, 4 million people may want to leave the country to escape the war.
“We are witnessing what could become the most serious refugee crisis in Europe this century,” said Filippo Grandi on Tuesday in Geneva.
The UN and its partner organizations launched an emergency appeal on Tuesday to raise $1.7 billion, including $1.1 billion to help Ukrainians who have not fled and just over $550 million for refugees.