UN says five million Ukrainians have fled war-torn country

MORE THAN five million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country, the UN refugee agency said.

The agency announced the milestone in Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War last week.

When the number reached four million on March 30, the exodus exceeded the worstcase predictions of the Genevabased

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The receiving countries are providing various forms of support, but they are also calling for international help as they face the unprecedented challenge, especially now as Russia has intensified attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

The mayor of Warsaw says Poland’s capital is at capacity and cannot house more refugees.

The millions of people who left Ukraine because of the war “have left behind their homes and families”, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted last week.

“Many would do anything, and some even risk going back, to see their loved ones. But every new attack shatters their hopes. Only an end to the war can pave the way for rebuilding their lives.”

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million, and the UNHCR says the conflict has displaced more than seven million people within Ukraine along with the 5.03 million who have left. Another 13 million people are believed to be trapped in the war-affected areas of Ukraine.

“We’ve seen about a quarter of Ukraine’s population, more than 12 million people in total, been forced to flee their homes,” said UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo.

More than half of the refugees, over 2.8 million, fled at least at first to Poland.

They are eligible for national ID numbers that entitle them to work, to free healthcare, and to schooling.