Mar 2, 2022 - World

1 million refugees have fled Ukraine so far, UN says

Shawna Chen

Photo of people loading luggage on to a blue departing train — People wait to depart to Lviv by train in Dnipro, Ukraine, on March 2, the seventh day since the start of large-scale Russian attacks in the country. Photo: Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

At least 1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded the country on Feb. 24, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

The big picture: It's the "swiftest exodus of refugees this century," AP notes. More than 2,000 civilians have been killed so far, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Wednesday.

What they're saying: "In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries," Grandi tweeted.

"For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided."

State of play: Most Ukrainians who fled amid Russian bombardments have made their way to Poland. Others have crossed into Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania, though reports show that some African refugees aren't being received the same way.

The fighting is expected to grow even more intense and dangerous for civilians. United Nations aid agencies have warned dwindling fuel, cash and medical supplies could lead to up to 5 million people fleeing Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian forces of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity; the International Criminal Court opened a probe in response.

In photos: Refugees flee Ukraine

Photo of people crowded into a tent and standing before two police officers with documents on the table — Ukrainian refugees queue to file for residency permits at Prague's foreigner police headquarters on March 2, 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic. Photo: Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images

Photo of a person handing a water bottle to another person through the crack of a train window — A man hands a bottle of water to one of the wagons at the train station on March 2, 2022, in Lviv, Ukraine. This city has in recent weeks become the destination of choice for evacuees from areas in the east of the country. Photo: Alejandro Martinez Velez/Europa Press via Getty Images

Photo of people crowded around — People fleeing war-torn Ukraine get food, clothing and toiletries at the Hauptbahnhof main railway station on March 2, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Hannibal Hanschke via Getty Images

Photo of people exiting a bus in the nighttime, with one child staring at the luggage — Passengers arrive at a bus station after crossing from Ukraine into the Polish border down of Medyka on Feb. 25, 2022. Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Photo of a space littered with clothes bedding and a wheelchair — An empty tent where people shelter in the Polish border town of Medyka. In Medyka and Przemyl, hundreds of non-Ukrainians — including citizens of African, Asian and Middle East countries — are are seeking safety. Their lives have been upended along with the Ukrainians. The trains and buses taking people west to Poland are carrying significant numbers of foreign students and workers. Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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1 million refugees have fled Ukraine so far, UN says

In photos: Refugees flee Ukraine

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