The number of Ukrainians who’ve fled to Poland is equal to the population of Warsaw
About 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February, the United Nations says — a remarkable pace that has placed Ukraine among the world’s worst refugee crises.
As of Tuesday, 2.97 million people have left Ukraine since Feb. 24, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency. Another U.N. agency, the International Organization for Migration, said Tuesday that more than 3 million people have fled.
“The people who are coming over are in a bit more of a state of shock” compared to earlier arrivals after the invasion, said Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesperson for UNHCR. “They’ve experienced conflict more directly in many cases. There often may be people with fewer means, with less financial support.”
The lion’s share have gone to Poland, where the number of refugees that have arrived – about 1.8 million – matches the population of the city of Warsaw, Poland’s capital and largest city.
The flood of arrivals is visible in Warsaw, where the central train station has been transformed, with information booths, volunteer translators and free coffee.
Cities near Poland’s border with Ukraine, such as Rzeszow, have swelled with refugees and humanitarian workers. Some local officials have told the U.N. they are “reaching saturation points,” said Saltmarsh, the UNHCR spokesperson.
In major cities such as Warsaw and Krakow, some services have reached capacity. Now, Polish officials are urging refugees to seek shelter in the country’s smaller cities.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has previously called it the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
The vast majority of the refugees have fled for countries neighboring Ukraine’s western border. Countries in the European Union — including Ukraine’s neighbors Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary — have offered Ukrainian refugees the right to live, work and receive welfare across the EU for up to three years without special legal status.
The number of refugees leaving Ukraine each day has slowed, from over 200,000 at the peak to 130,000 or less in recent days.
Photo – A woman holds a child as refugees from Ukraine arrive at the Humanitarian Aid Centre in Przemysl, Poland. EPA-EFE/Darek Delmanowicz
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