5.3 million Ukrainian Refugees Flee, As UN Warns of 3 Million More Fleeing

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The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday put the number of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the country since Russia launched its invasion two months ago at about 5.3 million people.

The UN warned that three million more were expected to follow this year as the war lasts.

In total, 5,264,767 people have fled Ukraine as refugees since February 24, according to the latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

That marks an increase of 32,753 over Monday’s figure.

While the outflow has slowed significantly since March, UNHCR said Tuesday it now projects that three million more Ukrainians could become refugees by the end of the year.

UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said the new projection of 8.3 million Ukrainian refugees was a planning figure, and that it was unclear when it would be reached amid a “highly dynamic” situation.

“This displacement has been on such an expansive scale, and the rapidity of this we haven’t seen in recent times,” she told reporters in Geneva.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said an additional 224,975 citizens of third countries — largely students and migrant workers — have also escaped to neighbouring countries since the invasion began.

Women and children account for 90 percent of those who have fled abroad, with men aged 18 to 60 eligible for military call-up unable to leave.

Beyond the refugees, the IOM estimates more than 7.7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine.

Almost two-thirds of Ukrainian children have had to flee their homes, including those who remain in the country.

Before the invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist-controlled regions in the east.

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