Ten million people – more than a quarter of Ukraine’s population – have fled their homes because of Russia’s “devastating” war. This was stated today by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, reports Agence France-Presse.
“The war in Ukraine is so devastating that 10 million people have been forced to flee – either internally displaced persons or refugees abroad,” Grandi wrote on Twitter.
Those who are waging wars around the world are responsible, in particular, for the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their homes, he added.
The UN refugee agency said today that 3,389,044 Ukrainians had fled the country since the Russian invasion on February 24.
Almost 90 percent of those who escaped were women and children. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 can be drafted into the army and cannot leave it.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, said more than 1.5 million children had fled abroad and warned of a “real and growing” risk of being trafficked and exploited.
The International Organization for Migration said that as of Wednesday, 162,000 foreigners had fled Ukraine to neighboring countries.
Millions of people have fled their homes, but not the borders of Ukraine. According to the United Nations and relevant agencies, the number of internally displaced persons in Ukraine as of Wednesday was about 6.48 million.
Prior to the conflict, 37 million people lived in areas controlled by Kyiv. The rest of the population is in Crimea, annexed by Russia, and in the pro-Russian separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.