Number of refugees from Ukraine reaches almost 2.5 mln, over 1.5 mln go to Poland
Since February 24, when Russia launched a war against Ukraine, the number of refugees from Ukraine to Poland has reached 1.52 million, the Polish Border Guard Service reported on Twitter on Friday.
According to it, on March 10, some 87,000 people from Ukraine crossed the Polish border, and on March 11, as of 7:00, another 25,400.
According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at 13:00 Kyiv time on March 10, in general, the Russian military offensive against Ukraine forced 2.473 million people to leave the country in 15 days of the war in search of security, protection and help.
The department clarifies that 60.6% of all refugees fell on the share of the Ukrainian-Polish border, while Hungary received 225,050, Slovakia – 176,090, Moldova – 104,930, Romania (data as of March 8 ) – 84,670, and other European countries (data as of March 9) – 258,840.
According to the OHCHR, 99,300 arrived in Russia from Ukraine, and 860 arrived in Belarus.
The department indicates that after a slight decrease, the flow of refugees has increased again: if, after a peak of 208,940 on March 6, the next day it decreased to 200,900, on March 8-9 – to 185,180 and 174,620, respectively, then on March 10 it jumped again to 190,430.
"As the situation continues to evolve, about 4 million people may leave Ukraine," the OHCHR notes.
According to it, as of mid-2021, there were 53,470 Ukrainian refugees in the world who applied for the appropriate status, of which 36,490 were in Europe.
As of mid-2020, the OHCHR estimated the Ukrainian diaspora in the world at 6.1 million, including 5 million in Europe.
The organization clarifies that the right to free movement within the Schengen area means that there are very few border controls in the European Union, so arrivals in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia only reflect border crossings in these countries, however, according to the UN, a large number of people moved to other countries.
In addition, the OHCHR does not take into account persons from border countries who leave Ukraine and return home.
