Tuesday

28th Mar 2023

UN: 10 million fled Ukraine since war began

  • More than 6.1 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, and Belarus since the war began (Photo: European Commission)
Listen to article

The escalation of the war in Ukraine has forced more than 10 million people from Ukraine to cross the border into neighbouring countries since late February, the UN Refugee Agency reported on Tuesday (August 2).

The agency's tally has recorded a total of 10,107,957 border crossings from Ukraine since the war began.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"It is one of the largest forced displacement crises since World War II, and certainly the fastest," reads the latest UNHCR's Global Trends report.

According to the UN, more than 6.1 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, and Belarus as of Tuesday — while many have been forced to move within Ukraine.

Nearly four million have applied for temporary residence in a neighbouring country, the UN said.

Over five million people crossed to Poland, while another one million crossed to Hungary and Romania since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Many refugees from Ukraine have also been forcibly sent to Russia, where they face human-rights abuses. The UN recorded nearly two million border crossings from Ukraine to Russia.

Last month, the UN praised Poland for providing support to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

It is estimated that more than 1.2 million refugees are currently residing in Poland — many of them being hosted as guests in the homes of Polish citizens.

With millions fleeing Ukraine, as well as forced displacement in Burkina Faso and Myanmar this year, more than 100 million people are forced to leave their homes — for the first time in history.

This means 1-in-78 people in the world has been forced to flee violence, war, hunger, prosecution, or extreme poverty.

The UN described it as "a dramatic milestone that few would have expected a decade ago".

"This is a political crisis and it will be only solved with solidarity and political will," the agency said on Twitter.

The latest UNHCR report, which is focused on 2021, also shows that Turkey reminded the largest refugee-hosting country in the world last year, hosting more than 3.8 million refugees.

In Europe, Germany was the second-largest refugee-hosting country, with 1.3 million refugees.

Column

Is this strange summer a moment of change?

It is a strange, strange summer. The war in Ukraine continues, 60 percent of Europe is in danger of drought, and Covid is still around and could rebound in the autumn. At the same time, everyone is desperate for normalcy.

'Symbolic' Putin indictment gets some EU backing

Several EU foreign ministers welcomed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, but it is unlikely to influence negotiations about a special tribunal on the crime of agression.

Latest News

  1. Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity
  2. Finnish elections and Hungary's Nato vote in focus This WEEK
  3. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict
  4. Okay, alright, AI might be useful after all
  5. Von der Leyen pledges to help return Ukrainian children
  6. EU leaders agree 1m artillery shells for Ukraine
  7. Polish abortion rights activist vows to appeal case
  8. How German business interests have shaped EU climate agenda

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us