(Geneva) More than 3.8 million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion of the Russian army on February 24, according to the UN count published on Sunday, but the flow of refugees has slowed markedly since March 22.
Posted at 8:17 a.m.
In total, more than 10 million people, more than a quarter of the population, have had to leave their homes either by crossing the border to find refuge in neighboring countries or by finding refuge elsewhere in Ukraine.
The UN estimates the number of internally displaced persons at nearly 6.5 million.
3,821,049 refugees
The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) listed exactly 3,821,049 Ukrainian refugees on its dedicated website, Sunday around 7 a.m. These are 48,450 more than during the previous tally on Saturday.
Since March 22, the number of people seeking to flee fighting and increasingly difficult living conditions in Ukraine has fallen well below 100,000 per day and even below 50,000 in recent days.
Europe has not seen such floods of refugees since the Second World War.
Some 90% of those who fled Ukraine are women and children. According to UNICEF, more than 1.5 million children are among those who fled.
Before this conflict, Ukraine was populated by more than 37 million people in the territories controlled by Kyiv – which therefore does not include the Crimea (south) annexed in 2014 by Russia, nor the eastern areas under control pro-Russian separatists since the same year.
Poland
Poland alone hosts more than half of all refugees who have fled since the start of the Russian invasion — about six out of ten refugees.
PHOTO EVELYN HOCKSTEIN, REUTERS
US President Joe Biden visited a center for Ukrainian refugees set up at the PGE National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland on March 26.
Since February 24, 2,267,103 people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine have entered Poland, according to the UNHCR count as of March 26.
Before this crisis, Poland was already home to around 1.5 million Ukrainians who came, for the most part, to work in this member country of the European Union.
Romania
According to the UN refugee agency, 586,942 people have traveled to Romania as of March 26. Many refugees decide to move on once they are safe.
Moldova
After their arrival in Moldova, a small country of 2.6 million inhabitants and one of the poorest in Europe, some of the refugees continue their journey to Romania or Hungary, often to find family.
According to the UNHCR, 381,395 people had entered Moldova as of March 26.
Hungary
Hungary has received 349,107 Ukrainians as of March 26, according to UNHCR figures.
The country has five border posts with Ukraine.
Slovakia
According to UNHCR’s updated March 26 update, 272,012 Ukrainians have arrived in Slovakia.
Russia
The number of people who have taken refuge in Russia stands at nearly 271,254 as of March 22, the latest figure available.
UNHCR also notes that between February 21 and 23, 113,000 people crossed from the pro-Russian separatist territories of Donetsk and Luhansk into Russia.
Belarus
As of March 24, Belarus had received 6,341 people.
Method
The UNHCR has deleted the section concerning the other European countries and specifies that for the countries bordering Ukraine which are part of the Schengen area (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), the figures presented by the High Commissioner are those which have crossed the border and entered the country. The UNHCR estimates that “a large number of people have continued on their way to other countries”.
In addition, the organization indicates that it does not count people from neighboring countries who leave Ukraine to return home.