(Geneva) The number of Ukrainian refugees who fled the invasion of their territory by the Russian army at the end of February continues to increase and is approaching 5.2 million, according to figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees published on Saturday.
Posted at 8:17 a.m.
According to the UNHCR, 5,163,686 Ukrainians have left their country since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 29,939 more than the figure published on Thursday.
In April, just over 1,128,000 Ukrainians have so far fled, much less than the 3.4 million who chose to leave in March.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), also attached to the United Nations, indicated that more than 218,000 non-Ukrainians, mainly students and migrant workers, had also left Ukraine for neighboring countries, which means that more than 5.25 million people in total have fled the country since the start of the war.
Women and children represent 90% of these refugees, men aged 18 to 60 being likely to be mobilized and not having the right to leave.
Almost two-thirds of Ukrainian children have had to flee their homes, including those still in the country.
More than 7.7 million people have left their homes but are still in Ukraine, according to IOM.
Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million people in areas under its government’s control. This figure excludes Crimea (south) annexed in 2014 by Russia, and the eastern regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
Poland
Nearly six out of 10 Ukrainian refugees (2,884,764) are in Poland, which hosts by far the largest number, although some subsequently move on to other European countries.
At the same time, more than 800,000 people crossed the Polish border into Ukraine – Ukrainian men joining the army or residents returning home – according to Polish border guards.
PHOTOJAKUB STEZYCKI, REUTERS
Katerina Cherik is waiting for a bus in Warsaw to return to Kyiv and celebrate Easter there with her family.
Before the war, about 1.5 million Ukrainians lived in Poland, mostly migrant workers.
Romania
As of April 22, a total of 774,074 Ukrainians have left their country to enter Romania, many of whom arrived via Moldova, landlocked between Romania and Ukraine.
Most continued their journey to other countries.
Russia
The number of refugees in Russia stood at 578,255 as of April 21. The figures were not updated on Saturday.
UNHCR also notes that between February 18 and 23, 105,000 people crossed from the pro-Russian separatist territories of Donetsk and Luhansk (eastern Ukraine) to Russia.
Hungary
A total of 485,618 Ukrainians have entered Hungary as of April 21.
Moldova
The Moldovan border is closest to the major Ukrainian port of Odessa. According to the UNHCR, 431,468 Ukrainians had entered Moldova, a former Soviet republic and a small country of 2.6 million among the poorest in Europe, on Wednesday. Most of these refugees continued their journey to other countries.
Slovakia
A total of 352,286 refugees have arrived from Ukraine in Slovakia since the start of the war, according to UNHCR figures dated April 22.
Belarus
As of April 20, 23,900 Ukrainians have found refuge in Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
Method
The UNHCR specifies that for the countries bordering Ukraine which are part of the Schengen area (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), the figures presented by the High Commission count those who 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.