More than two million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country under the threat of bombs since the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's army on February 24, according to the website of the High Commissioner for Refugees, which count it down.
“Today, the flow of refugees from Ukraine has reached two million.
Two million”, tweeted the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, after a visit to Romania, Moldova and Poland, three of the countries bordering Ukraine, which host the most people and are today hailed by UNHCR for their "exemplary" welcome.
Today the outflow of refugees from Ukraine reaches two million people.
Two million.
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) March 8, 2022
The flow of refugees manageable “for the moment”
The number of refugees is precisely 2,011,312 at the moment.
Poland, with more than 1,200,000 refugees received, received more than half of them.
According to the latest UNHCR figures, Romania and Moldova were hosting more than 82,000 refugees each as of Tuesday.
Many of the people who fled Ukraine - mostly women and children - then continue on elsewhere in Europe to join family or friends.
“For the moment”, these countries manage to manage the flood of arrivals because these refugees are those who have “some resources”, estimated the High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Many arrive by car and, above all, they have connections, they can go where they have family, friends, a community”.
VIDEO.
War in Ukraine: Europe must "prepare to receive 5 million people"
Nevertheless, the conditions of exile could become more complicated if the conflict extends over time.
“If the war continues (…), we will start to see people without resources or connections and it will be a more difficult problem for European countries to manage, there will be a need for more solidarity by everyone in Europe and beyond. beyond" for their welcome, he said.
Unheard of since World War II
The wars in the Balkans, in Bosnia and in Kosovo, in the 1990s, had also caused enormous flows of refugees, "perhaps two or three million, but over a period of eight years", pointed out Filippo Grandi.
“There, it is in eight days”.
“Other parts of the world have seen this, but in Europe it's the first time since World War II,” he said.
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After several unsuccessful attempts, Russia promised to open humanitarian corridors on Tuesday morning to allow thousands of civilians to flee the main Ukrainian cities, under Russian artillery fire for nearly two weeks.
According to the UN, four million people may want to leave the country to escape the war.