Number of Ukrainian refugees could increase to 15 lakh by Sunday, says UN
Filippo Granti, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said this was the ‘fastest moving refugee crisis’ since the second World War.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Saturday estimated the number of people fleeing Ukraine in face of the Russian invasion to be 13 lakh, Reuters reported. The number could potentially increase to 15 lakh by Sunday, the UN body’s head Filippo Granti said.
“This is the fastest moving refugee crisis we have seen since the end of World War Two”, said Granti.
Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration has estimated the number of refugees to be 14.5 lakh, according to The Associated Press. Citizens of 138 countries have crossed Ukraine’s borders into neighbouring nations, the International Organisation for Migration said.
So far, 7,56,303, or 55.3%, of the refugees who fled Ukraine, have crossed over to Poland, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
As many as 1,57,004 people have crossed over to Hungary, Moldova has taken in 1,03,253 refugees and 1,01,529 have fled to Slovakia.
The Russian invasion on Ukraine has been going on since February 24. The bombing and shelling on several Ukrainian cities have resulted in nearly 50,000 casualties.
New Delhi has also been in talks with both Ukraine and Russia to start a ceasefire for the safe passage and evacuation of Indians who have been stranded in various parts of the country.
Several students have complained that the Indian embassies in neighbouring countries of Ukraine had helped them only after they crossed the border of the war-hit country. Students have also shared their accounts of having to walk for several kilometres in sub-zero temperatures to be able to reach the help desks of the embassies.