Europe

4 million have fled Ukraine in ‘massive humanitarian crisis,’ UN says

by Maureen Breslin - 03/30/22 8:13 AM ET

Ukrainian soldiers chat in the front-line position close to Kharkiv, Ukraine. — Associated Press/Efrem Lukatsky
Ukrainian soldiers chat in the front-line position close to Kharkiv, Ukraine on Saturday, March 26, 2022. With the invasion now in its second month, Russian forces have seemingly stalled on many fronts and are even losing previously taken ground to Ukrainian counterattacks, including around Kyiv.

The United Nations’ refugee agency said on Wednesday that 4 million people have now fled Ukraine more than a month after Russia launched its invasion, adding that it is “a massive humanitarian crisis that is growing by the second.”

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a tweet that 6.5 million people are also displaced inside Ukraine.

Another 13 million people are stranded and are unable to leave the country, it added.

4 million have fled Ukraine
~ 6.5 million are displaced inside the country
~ 13 million are estimated to be stranded in affected areas or unable to leave
We are confronted with the realities of a massive humanitarian crisis that is growing by the second. pic.twitter.com/ZTBj1ldrql
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) March 30, 2022

“The war has caused one of the fastest large-scale displacements of children since World War II,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement.

“This is a grim milestone that could have lasting consequences for generations to come,” Russell said. “Children’s safety, wellbeing and access to essential services are all under threat from non-stop violence.”

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi tweeted that he just arrived in Ukraine and “will discuss with the authorities, the UN and other partners ways to increase our support to people affected and displaced by this senseless war.”

Refugees from Ukraine are now 4 million, five weeks after the start of the Russian attack.
I have just arrived in Ukraine.
In Lviv I will discuss with the authorities, the UN and other partners ways to increase our support to people affected and displaced by this senseless war.
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) March 30, 2022

More than 608,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Romania, more than 387,000 have gone to Moldova and about 364,000 have entered Hungary, according to a report by The Associated Press.